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CIVICS 

FOR  NEW  YORK  STATE 


BY 


CHARLES  Deforest  hoxie 

Member  of  the  New  York  Bar 


NEW  EDITION 


'•    •      •  •,  •  '    '  J  •>,'•*')'  '" 


NEW  YORK  •  :  •   CINCINNATI  •  !  •   CHICAGO 
AMERICAN     BOOK     COMPANY 


< 


Copyright,  1901,  by 

CHARLES  Deforest  hoxie. 

Copyright,  1910,  by 
AMERICAN   BOOK  COMPANY. 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London. 


CIVICS   for   new  YORK   STATE. 

W.  p.  1' 


/, 


Preface 

No  text-book,  however  good,  can  take  the  place  of  the 
teacher.  The  book  may  supply  materials  for  study,  furnish 
an  outline  and  guide  for  the  student,  stimulate  him  to  orig- 
inal  thought  and  inquiry ;  but  it  is  the  teacher,  after  all, 
who  must  vitalize  the  subject. 

It  is  the  aim  of  Civics  for  New  York  State  to  help  the 
teacher  in  his  efforts  to  help  the  boys  and  girls  of  New 
York  to  an  understanding  of  the  several  governments, 
local,  State  and  national,  under  which  we  live  ;  to  arouse  in 
their  minds  an  interest  in  the  work  which  the  different  gov- 
ernments are  called  upon  to  perform ;  and  to  inspire  our 
young  people  with  a  love  not  only  for  their  country  and 
State,  but  also  for  the  city  or  other  local  division  in  which 
they  live,  and  a  desire  to  see  its  public  business  wisely  and 
justly  administered. 

To  accomplish  these  purposes  the  author  has  aimed,  first 
of  all,  to  make  the  subject — often  looked  upon  as  a  some- 
what dry  one — alive  with  interest ;  secondly,  to  develop  it 
in  accordance  with  true  pedagogic  principles;  thirdly,  to 
treat  it  historically,  so  that  present  forms  and  institutions 
may  be  traced  to  their  historic  origins ;  and  fourthly,  to 
combine  all  with  a  full  and  comprehensive  summary  of  the 
latest  general  laws  and  principles  underlying  the  govern- 
ments affecting  the  people  of  New  York,  and  an  account  of 
our  more  important  public  officers,  their  powers  and  duties. 


255813 


4  -  .  '  .  PREFACE. 

With  these  ends  in  view,  the  book  at  the  same  time  fol- 
lows closely  the  plan  laid  down  by  the  New  York  State 
Education  Department  in  its  Syllabus  outlining  the  subjects 
necessary  to  be  mastered  in  order  to  pass  its  examinations 
in  civics ;  and  the  student  who  makes  a  careful  reading 
of  this  book  and  its  collateral  references  should  be  able 
to  pass  any  ordinary  examination  in  civics. 

Besides  its  use  as  a  text-book,  it  is  hoped  that  the  book 
may  prove  of  interest  and  value  to  the  general  reader,  lead- 
ing him  to  realize  more  vividly  the  truth  that  governments, 
laws  and  public  officials  are  but  the  machinery  by  which  he 
and  his  neighbors  secure  the  doing  of  needed  public  work ; 
that  he  has  a  direct  interest  in  the  proper  performance  of 
this  work ;  and  that  liis  interest  requires  his  attendance  at 
the  caucus  and  the  primary  as  well  as  at  the  public  elec- 
tions. In  short,  it  is  hoped  that  Civics  for  New  York  State 
will  stimulate  good  citizenship,  not  only  in  the  schoolroom, 
but  in  the  busy  world  outside. 

The  summaries  following  the  several  chapters,  and  the 
maps  and  diagrams  accompanying  the  text,  will  aid  the 
student  in  his  efforts  to  fix  the  subject  clearly  in  mind. 
Further  sources  of  information  will  be  found  at  the  close 
of  a  number  of  chapters  under  the  title  "Additional  Read- 
ing." The  "New  York  Syllabus  in  Civics"  (page  369), 
with  page  references  to  this  book,  will  be  found  helpful 
to  those  who  are  preparing  to  pass  the  examinations  of 
the  New  York  State  Education  Department. 

C.  DE  F.  HoxiE. 


Contents 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.    Preliminary  Steps  .        . 7 

II.    Government  by  Town  Meeting 15 

III.  Town  Officers,  Their  Powers  and  Duties         .        .        .23 

IV.  The  Village  and  its  Government ^^ 

V.    The  Government  of  Cities 42 

VI.    Greater  New  York 62 

VII.    The  County 80 

VIII.  The  State,  and  the  People  Who  Made  It        .        .        .    94 

IX.    How  New  York  Became  a  State 104 

X.    The  State  Constitution 113 

XI.    Personal  Rights 123 

XII.    The  Right  to  Vote 134 

XIII.  Departments  of  State  Government  —  The  Legislature  .  141 

XIV.  The  Legislature  —  (Continued) 149 

XV.    The  State's  Executive  Department 165 

XVI.  The     Judiciary     Department  —  How     Criminals     Are 

Brought  to  Justice 178 

XVII.  The  Judiciary  Department — Civil  Suits  at  Law      .        .190 

XVIII.    The  Public  Schools 201 

XIX.    Assessment  and  Collection  of  Taxes 213 

XX.    The  Conduct  of  Public  Elections 226 

XXI.    The  State  and  the  United  States 238 

XXII.  The  United  States,  the  States,  and  the  People     .        .252 

XXIII.  Departments  of  United  States  Government     .        ,        .  275 

XXIV.  The  United  States  and  Other  Nations     ....  306 
XXV.  Personal  and  Property  Relations      .....  323 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

Appendix 

Constitution  of  the  United  States 337 

Summary  of  New  York  State  Constitution         ......  349 

Table  of  the  principal  officers  of  local,  state,  and  national  governments, 

with  mode  of  election  or  appointment,  term  of  office,  and  salary  .  366 
Syllabus  in  Civics,  with  references  to  corresponding  topics  in  this  book  .  369 
Index 382 


Maps,  Diagrams  and  Illustrations 

City  of  New  York,  by  Boroughs  and  Districts  of  Local  Improvements  62,  63 
City  of  New  York,  by  Senate  and  Assembly  Districts  .  .  .66,  67 
Map  of  Oneida  County,  showing  towns,  villages  and  cities        .         .         .81 

State,  by  Counties 82 

State,  by  Senate  Districts 148 

Senate  Chamber 144 

State  Capitol 150 

State,  by  Judiciary  Districts 195 

Specimen  Ballot 231 

The  State  by  Congressional  Districts 279 


CHAPTER   I. 

Preliminary  Steps. 

The  work  of  government  is  much  greater  and  more 
important  now  than  it  was  in.earher  times.  More  than  a 
million  people  in  our  country  are  engaged  in  carrying  on 
our  government,  and  the  work  they  do  is  of  many  kinds. 
Let  us  begin  by  making  a  list  of  some  of  the  things  that 
are  done  for  us  by  the  government. 

In  our  childhood  we  are  (i)  taught  by  public  school 
teachers,  and  (2)  provided  with  a  schoolhouse  in  which  the 
teaching  is  carried  on.  (3)  Public  libraries  are  kept  up, 
from  which  we  may  borrow  books  to  read.  Where  is  the 
nearest  library  from  which  you  can  draw  books  ? 

(4)  Roads  and  (5)  bridges  are  built  and  kept  in  repair, 
so  that  we  can  travel  about  easily  from  place  to  place.  If 
we  live  in  a  large  village  or  a  city,  the  government  provides 
(6)  waterworks  to  supply  us  with  water,  (7)  sewers  to 
carry  off  the  waste  water  from  our  houses,  and  (8)  men  and 
machines  to  put  out  destructive  fires.  It  may  also  (9)  provide 
parks  for  us  to  walk  or  play  in,  and  may  even  (10)  hire 
bands  to  play  music  for  us  on  certain  days. 

The  government  does  what  it  can  to  protect  us  from 
disease.  (11)  When  anybody  is  sick  with  a  contagious 
disease,  like  scarlet  fever  or  smallpox,  government  officers 
enforce  the  rules  that  are  necessary  to  keep  the  disease 
from  spreading  to  other  people.  (12)  In  sickness  or  old 
age,  if  we  cannot  care  for  ourselves,  we  may  be  cared  for 
in  public  hospitals,  asylums,  or  poorhouses.  (13)  When  a 
contagious  disease  attacks  horses  or  cattle  or  sheep,  govern- 

7 


8  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW   YORK. 

ment  officers  will  stop  it  from  spreading  ;  if  necessary,  by 
destroying  the  sick  animals. 

To  protect  our  property,  the  government  (14)  keeps  a 
careful  record  of  the  ownership  of  every  piece  of  land, 
and  provides  courts  (15)  to  settle  disputes,  and  (16)  to 
punish  thieves  and  robbers.* 

What  bank  is  nearest  your  school }  Is  it  a  safe  place  in 
which  to  deposit  money.-*  Government  officers  (17)  in- 
spect banks,  and  close  any  that  are  likely  to  fail. 

Is  your  house  insured }  Is  your  father's  life  insured } 
Are  the  insurance  companies  sound  and  able  to  pay  the 
amounts  insured .?  Government  officers  (18)  inspect  insur- 
ance companies,  and  put  out  of  business  any  that  are  unsafe. 

The  government  (19)  coins  and  prints  all  our  money,  and. 
(20)  severely  punishes  counterfeiting.  It  (21)  manages 
all  the  post  offices,  and  for  two  cents  will  carry  a  letter 
thousands  of  miles  and  deliver  it  to  the  person  addressed. 

What  other  work  do  you  know,  that  is  done  by  the  gov- 
ernment ?  Of  all  the  different  kinds  of  government  work 
mentioned,  which  do  you  think  is  the  most  important  .'* 

Governmental  Units. — The  things  mentioned  above  are 
done  by  many  different  officers,  some  acting  for  the  whole 
country,  some  for  the  State,  some  for  the  town,  county, 
village  or  city,  and  some  for  the  school  district.  In  our  list, 
the  things  numbered  (i),  (2)  and  (3)  are  done  by  officers 
of  a  school  district;  (3),  (6),  (7),  (8),  (9)  and  (10),  by 
officers  of  the  town,  village  or  city;  (14)  by  a  county 
officer;  (13),  (17)  and  (18)  by  officers  of  the  State; 
(19),  (20)  and  (21)  by  officers  of  the  United  States.  The 
things  numbered  (4),  (5),  (11),  (12),  (15)  and  (16)  are  done 
partly  by  officers  of  the  town,  village  or  city;  partly  by 
county  officers ;  and  partly  by  State  officers. 


PRELIMINARY  STEPS.  9 

Cooperative  Control. — And  why  should  these  things 
be  done  b)'-  government  officers  ?  Why  not  leave  them  to 
be  done  by  people  for  themselves  ?  Because  some  of  them 
can  be  done  only  by  the  authority  of  a  whole  community, 
imposing  its  will  on  individuals ;  and  because  others  can  be 
done  better  and  more  cheaply  by  the  united  action  of  a 
community  than  by  individuals  or  private  companies.  For 
instance,  it  takes  far  less  time  for  one  inspector  to  look 
over  the  books  of  a  bank  and  publish  his  report,  than  it 
would  for  each  depositor  to  do  the  work  for  himself.  A 
single  schoolhouse  built  at  public  expense,  and  under 
cooperative  control,  is  better  and  cheaper  than  a  separate 
schoolroom  in  each  house. 

If  each  family  employed  its  own  school  teacher,  it  might 
manage  its  school  as  it  liked ;  while  the  public  school  can- 
not be  managed  so  as  to  suit  everybody  in  all  particulars, 
because  people  do  not  all  think  aUke.  It  is  necessary,  in 
any  organized  community,  that  the  members  shall  give  up 
part  of  their  individual  control  of  their  lives  and  actions. 

Mending  a  Road. — How  are  things  done  by  joint 
effort }  For  example,  if  a  washed-out  country  road  is  to 
be  repaired,  who  will  superintend  the  workmen  to  be  em- 
ployed "i     Who  will  pay  their  wages  } 

The  natural  answer  to  these  questions  is  that  the  public 
officers  in  charge  of  the  road  will  see  to  its  repair,  and  that 
the  taxpayers  will  meet  the  expense.  But  here  again  arise 
more  questions.  Who  and  what  are  public  officers  .''  How 
are  they  chosen }  What  gives  them  authority  over  roads 
and  other  public  affairs .?  How  does  the  money  to  pay  for 
needed  public  work  find  its  way  from  the  pockets  of  the 
taxpayers  into  the  hands  of  the  proper  public  officers }  In 
attempting  to  mend  our  country  road,  we  find  ourselves 


lo  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

face  to  face  with  questions  involving  almost  the  entire 
machinery  and  authority  of  government. 

The  first  step  naturally  taken  in  the  mending  of  the  road 
would  be  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  persons  most  immediately 
interested,  to  discuss  the  work  to  be  done,  to  decide  on  the 
amount  of  money  needed,  to  select  suitable  persons  to  super- 
vise the  work,  to  apportion  each  interested  person's  share  of 
the  cost,  and  to  arrange  for  collecting  the  money.  This  nat- 
ural method  of  procedure  corresponds  very  closely  with  the 
legal  method  of  securing  the  performance  of  most  needed 
public  work  in  the  country  districts  of  New  York.  In  these 
places  meetings  of  the  voters  are  regularly  held  to  discuss 
and  decide  questions  relating  to  the  public  business.  These 
meetings  are  known  as  Town  Meetings.  Regular  town 
meetings  are  held  once  in  every  two  years  in  all  the  towns 
of  New  York.  This  brings  us  to  another  question.  What  is 
the  town  ? 

The  Town. — If  we  start  from  a  country  place  in  New 
York,  and  drive  off  in  any  single  direction  for  three  or  four 
miles,  we  shall  come  to  the  borders  of  another  town  from 
the  one  where  we  started.  Wherever  we  go  throughout  the 
State,  except  in  the  cities,  we  find  the  country  cut  up  into 
towns,  or  townships,  as  they  are  sometimes  called.  As  a 
rule, each  town  differs  in  size  and  shape  from  all  the  others; 
but  no  town  is  so  large  that  its  voters  may  not  conveniently 
gather  in  town  meeting.  In  many  of  the  western  States, 
towns  are  laid  out  in  blocks  of  territory,  six  miles  long  and 
six  miles  wide,  like  the  squares  on  a  checkerboard,  each 
town  containing  about  thirty-six  square  miles.  Towns  in 
New  York  ^  and  the  older  eastern  States,  are  not  thus  laid 

I  Except  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  in  some  portions  of  the  cen- 
tral part. 


PRELIMINARY  STEPS.  ii 

out;  but  they  were  formed  gradually  as  people  from  Hol- 
land, England  and  other  European  countries  came  several 
hundred  years  ago  to  this  country,  built  stockades  and  forts 
and  established  trading  posts  to  trade  with  the  Indians, 
cleared  the  land  of  forests,  laid  out  farms  and  gathered  in 
villages.  As  public  necessity  required,  local  governments 
were  estabHshed,  to  build  roads  and  schools  and  administer 
public  affairs.  Thus  many  towns  of  New  York  were  formed, 
here  and  there,  with  irregular  boundaries  and  of  different 
shapes  and  sizes ;  and  out  of  these  early  forms  have  grad- 
ually developed  our  present  city,  town  and  village  govern- 
ments. We  may  speak,  then,  of  a  town  in  New  York,  as 
lying  within  a  certain  piece  of  territory,  the  voters  of  which 
meet  regularly  to  select  town  officers  and  order  the  town's 
public  work.  Several  towns  united  form  a  county,^  of 
which  there  are  sixty-one  in  New  York. 

The  Town  a  Municipal  Corporation. — But  while  a  town 
may  be  said  to  lie  within  a  certain  definite  piece  of  territory 
that  may  be  shown  on  a  map,  the  town  itself  is  not  terri- 
tory. The  real  town  consists  of  the  townspeople  living 
within  the  territory,  who  are  united  for  purposes  of  town 
government.  In  this  sense  a  town  is  a  municipal  corpora- 
tion, which  being  explained,  means  a  number  of  persons  as- 
sociated together  for  purposes  of  government,  and  hav- 
ing by  law  power  to  do  or  direct  the  public  affairs  of  a  cer- 
tain  territory.  A  town,  then,  consists  of  the  people  of  the 
town  united  in  a  body  politic,  or  municipal  corporation. 

The  Town  Governed  by  Its  People  through  the  Town 
Meeting — The  town's  pubhc  business  is  largely  transacted 
by  its  voters  assembled  in  town  meeting.  In  the  town 
meeting  any  voter  may  propose  any  action  of  interest  to  the 

>The  counties  forming  the  city  of  New  York  have  now  no  towns. 


12  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

townspeople,  allowed  by  the  law ;  his  proposition  may  be 
debated  by  the  voters  in  open  meeting,  and  decided,  "  yes  " 
or  •*  no,  "  by  majority  vote  of  those  present.  The  final  de- 
cisions of  a  town  meeting  upon  questions  relating  to  its  pub- 
lic affairs,  are  known  as  the  town's  By-laws.  The  word  "  by  " 
in  by-law  comes  from  an  old  Norse  word  meaning  town.  It 
probably  crept  into  our  language  centuries  ago,  when  the 
Danes  were  masters  in  Great  Britain  and  Danish  kings  sat 
on  the  English  throne.  In  our  New  York  town  meetings, 
money  needed  for  carrying  on  the  town's  public  work  may 
be  voted,  Assessors  may  be  chosen  to  apportion  each  per- 
son's share  of  the  money  to  be  raised  in  town  for  public 
purposes,  and  a  Collector  to  collect  this  money.  Money 
thus  lawfully  assessed  and  collected  from  private  persons 
for  public  purposes  is  called  a  Tax ;  and  the  power  to  assess 
and  collect  taxes,  possessed  by  the  town  meeting  is  one  of 
the  most  important  powers  of  government. 

The  work  of  the  town  meeting,  thus  described,  consti- 
tutes very  largely  what  we  call  "  governing  the  town."  In- 
deed, for  many  purposes,  we  may  say  that  the  town  meet- 
ing, attended  by  the  lawful  voters  of  the  town,  discussing  the 
town's  public  work,  electing  officers  to  carry  on  that  work, 
and  directing  the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes, 
is  the  government  of  the  town  actually  assembled  and  doing 
its  work.  We  sometimes  speak  of  "  the  government  "  as 
if  it  were  some  mysterious,  far-away  institution,  quite  apart 
from  the  common  people.  In  the  town  meeting,  we  see 
that  "  the  government "  consists  of  the  people,  assembled 
according  to  the  forms  of  law,  discussing  and  directing  their 
own  public  work. 

The  Town  an  Example  of  Direct  Democratic  Govern- 
ment  The  government  of  a  town  by  its  voters  assembled 


I 


PRELIMINARY  STEPS.  13 


in  town  meeting,  is  an  example  of  what  is  known  as  direct 
democratic  government,  as  distinguished  from  what  is 
known  as  representative  democratic  government.^  Un- 
der direct  democratic  government,  the  voting  population 
decides  directly,  '•  yes  "  or  "  no,"  questions  relating  to  pub- 
lic affairs.  Under  representative  democratic  government  the 
voters  choose  certain  persons  to  represent  them,  and  then 
leave  to  these,  their  chosen  Representatives,  the  decision  of 
public  questions,  and  the  direction  and  management  of  pub- 
lic affairs.  As  the  town  is  an  example  of  direct  democratic 
government,  so  our  city,  county,  and  State  governments,  as 
well  as  the  government  of  the  United  States,  are  examples 
very  largely  of  representative  democratic  government,  pub- 
lic affairs  under  these  governments  being  conducted  mainly 
by  bodies  of  representatives  chosen  by  the  people.  Thus, 
the  representative  law-making  body  of  the  city  is  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  of  the  county  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  of  the 
State  the  State  Legislature,  of  the  United  States  the  na- 
tional Congress.  This  distinction  between  direct  and  repre- 
sentative democratic  government  will  be  shown  more  fully 
in  examples  given  in  later  chapters  of  this  book.  Mean- 
while it  is  well  to  remember  that  in  no  place  do  the  people 
of  New  York  come  into  more  direct  relations  with  their 
government  than  in  the  town  meeting. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  officers  have  charge  of  public  roads  in  your  lo- 
cality ? 

^  Democratic  comes  from  the  Greek  words,  demos,  the  people,  and 
kraieo,  to  govern.  Hence,  democratic  government  means  a  government  by 
the  people. 


14  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

How  is  the  money  supplied  for  the  care  and  maintenance 
of  such  roads  ? 

Locate  your  town,  with  reference  to  other  towns,  and 
describe  its  boundaries. 

Describe  the  circumstances  of  the  first  settlement  of  your 
town. 

What  is  the  town  ? 

What  is  a  municipal  corporation  ? 

What  are  town  by-laws,  and  how  are  they  made  ? 

What  is  a  tax  ? 

How  are  town  taxes  voted  ? 

What  would  you  say  of  a  government  that  did  not  have 
the  power  to  tax  ? 

What  is  direct  democratic  government,  and  how  does 
it  differ  from  representative  democratic  government.? 

What  services  of  government  do  you  think  are  more  im- 
portant than  the  maintenance  of  roads  ?  What  services  less 
important? 


CHAPTER  n. 

Grovernment  by  Town  Meeting. 

Let  us  attend  a  town  meeting  held  in  one  of  the  towns 
of  New  York.  Every  town,  we  have  learned,  holds  a  regu- 
lar town  meeting  once  in  two  years,  and  special  meetings 
may  be  called  at  other  times  on  petition  of  the  taxpayers. 
The  biennial  town  meetings  are  held  in  odd-numbered 
years,  on  some  Tuesday  in  February,  March  or  April, 
or  on  the  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  November.^ 
As  we  approach  the  town  hall  or  other  place  where  the 
meeting  is  being  held,  we  notice  an  unusual  stir  about  the 
building.  Men  are  going  in  and  coming  out.  Horses 
and  wagons  stand  waiting  outside,  for  many  of  the  voters 
have  driven  considerable  distances  to  attend  the  meeting. 
Inside  we  meet  with  a  crowd  of  townspeople — staid  busi- 
ness men,  farmers  bronzed  and  gray-bearded,  bright  young 
fellows  just  reached  twenty-one,  the  shrewd-faced  country 
lawyer,  the  doctor,  the  preacher  and  the  schoolmaster. 
Every  wide-awake  voter  attends  the  town  meeting. 

At  one  end  of  the  room,  facing  the  people,  sits  a  Justice 

1  The  latter  date  for  town  meetings  is  fixed  in  a  few  counties  by  special 
State  laws;  in  many  others  by  order  of  the  board  of  supervisors.  The  board 
of  supervisors  of  any  county  has  power  to  fix  the  time  for  holding  its  biennial 
town  meetings  on  any  day  between  February  i  and  May  i,  inclusive,  or  on 
the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  November  (General  Election  Day). 
A  town  also  may  by  vote  change  the  date  of  its  town  meeting  to  General  Elec- 
tion Day.  When  the  town  meeting  is  held  in  connection  with  the  General 
Election,  its  deliberative  features,  as  described  in  this  chapter,  are  done  away 
with. 


i6  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

of  the  Peace,  the  officer  chosen  to  preside.  Before  him  is 
a  row  of  ballot  boxes.  In  charge  of  these  are  officers 
known  as  Inspectors  of  Election.  Near  by  is  a  row  of 
small  booths  or  stalls  with  swinging  doors,  each  just  about 
large  enough  to  admit  a  man.  Men  are  going  in  and  com- 
ing out  of  the  booths,  each  with  an  official  ballot,  on 
which  are  the  names  of  fellow- towns  men  to  be  selected  as 
public  officers  of  the  town  for  the  next  two  years  or  more. 
The  voters  coming  from  the  booths  hand  their  ballots, 
marked  and  folded,  to  an  inspector  of  election.  The  in- 
spector separates  the  "stub  ends"  and  drops  the  ballots, 
still  folded,  through  a  thin  sHt  in  the  top  of  the  ballot  box, 
and  the  ballots  fall  among  those  already  in  the  box.  This 
is  the  scene  which  has  been  going  on  in  the  town  meeting 
since  sunrise. 

Twelve  o'clock  noon  comes.  The  presiding  justice  of 
the  peace  now  declares  the  meeting  open  for  the  discussion 
of  the  business  not  to  be  decided  by  ballot.  Any  voter  of 
the  town  may  now  propose  in  open  meeting  any  question 
of  interest  to  the  townspeople,  allowed  by  the  law;  the 
voters  present  may  debate  it  and  decide  it,  "  yes  "  or  "  no," 
by  majority  vote  of  the  meeting ;  and  if  adopted,  it  be- 
comes one  of  the  by-laws  of  the  town.  What  are  the 
questions  which  the  people  may  thus  debate  and  decide  in 
the  town  meeting  ? 

Powers  of  a  Biennial  Town  Meeting.— We  find,  laid 
down  in  the  laws  of  New  York,  that  a  biennial  town  meet- 
ing, besides  its  power  to  select  town  officers,  has  these 
additional  powers : 

Power  to  decide  how  many  constables,  not  exceeding  five,  the  town 
may  have  ;  to  direct  the  prosecution  or  defense  of  lawsuits  in  which 
the  town  is  interested ;  to  pass  by-laws  for  the  destruction  of  noxious 


GOVERNMENT  BY  TOWN  MEETING,  17 

weeds  and  animals  in  the  town;  to  establish  pounds  or  enclosures 
where  stray  animals  may  be  confined;  to  abate  a  public  nuisance; 
to  make  rules  for  the  management  of  the  public  lands  owned  by  the 
town  ;  to  make  rules  for  ascertaining  whether  boundary  fences  are 
properly  built  and  kept ;  to  direct  the  raising  of  money  for  the  sup- 
port of  poor  people  in  the  town  who  need  assistance ;  and  finally, 
a  very  broad  power,  described  as  "power  to  determine  any  other 
question  lawfully  submitted."  * 

Any  proposition  relating  to  the  carrying  out  of  any  of 
these  powers  may  be  introduced  by  any  lawful  voter  of  the 
town  meeting,  may  be  discussed,  and  decided,  "  yes  '*  or 
**  no,"  by  majority  vote  of  the  meeting ;  but  no  question 
involving  the  spending  of  the  town's  public  money  may  be 
proposed  after  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  any  proposi- 
tion to  spend  over  ;^500  must  be  decided  by  ballot.  The 
Town  Clerk  acts  as  secretary  during  the  discussions,  record- 
ing the  result  of  each  vote  taken.  The  presiding  justice 
of  the  peace  preserves  order,  and  conducts  the  meeting 
according  to  the  rules  of  debate.  When  this  deliberative 
business  is  concluded,  the  meeting  is  again  opened  for  the 
election  of  public  officers,  and  for  the  determination  of 
other  questions  to  be  decided  by  written  or  printed  ballot. 

Procedure  in  Case  of  Questions  Decided  by  Written 
or  Printed  Ballot. — Important  propositions  relating  to  a 
town's  public  business  are  sometimes  decided  by  written  or 
printed  ballot,  without  previous  debate  in  the  town  meeting. 
In  such  a  case  the  proposition  is  first  submitted  to  the  town 
clerk,  who  has  ballots  prepared  both  for  and  against  it. 
The  clerk  causes  notices  of  the  proposition  and  the  pro- 
posed  vote  upon  it,  to  be  posted  in  conspicuous  places  at 
least  ten  days  before  the  meeting,  so  that  every  voter  may 

1  Laws  of  1909,  Chapter  63,  constituting  that  part  of  the  Consolidated  Laws 
called  the  "  Town  Law." 


1 8  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

inform  himself  and  come  prepared  to  cast  an  intelligent 
ballot. 

Town  Meeting  a  Very  Old  Form  of  Government. — 
The  principle  underlying  the  town  meeting — that  of  direct 
local  government  by  the  people — .may  be  traced  in  the 
practices  of  the  earliest  known  ancestors  of  the  English- 
speaking  people.  More  than  half  a  century  before  the 
Christian  era  the  Roman  general  Julius  Caesar  found 
the  fair-haired  Teutonic  or  German  ancestors  of  the  Eng- 
lish, living  in  groups  of  related  families,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Elbe,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Weser,  and  along  the  borders  of 
the  North  Sea.  These  family  groups  moved  each  year  from 
place  to  place,  taking  with  them  their  horses,  cattle  and 
other  possessions.  The  members  of  each  group  were 
united  by  the  tie  of  blood  relationship,  and  each  had  its 
head  man  or  chief.  Such  a  wandering  family  group  is  called 
a  clan.  It  is  the  first  or  primitive  form  of  political  organi- 
zation among  partially  civilized  people.  Questions  of  inter- 
est to  the  clan  were  decided  by  its  fighting  members  ^  in 
public  meeting,  much  as  questions  are  to-day  decided  by 
the  voters  of  a  town  meeting. 

The  Mark. — One   hundred   fifty  years  after  Caesar,  the 

I  "  The  earliest  form  of  political  union  in  the  world  is  one  which  rests,  not 
upon  territorial  contiguity,  but  upon  blood  relationship,  either  real  or  as- 
sumed," says  Mr.  John  Fiske  in  American  Political  Ideas.  The  primitive 
clan,  existing  as  an  enlarged  kind  of  family,  had  its  consultative  or  legisla- 
tive body,  which  met  for  the  discussion  and  decision  of  questions  of  interest 
to  the  entire  clan.  This  consultative  or  legislative  body,  according  to  Mr. 
Herbert  Spencer,  was  at  first  only  a  council  of  war.  "  Evidence  coming 
from  many  peoples  in  all  times  shows,"  says  Spencer  in  his  Political  Insti- 
tutions "  that  the  consultative  body  is  at  the  outset  nothing  more  than  a 
council  of  war.  It  is  in  the  open-air  meeting  of  armed  men  that  the  cluster  of 
leaders  is  first  seen  performing  that  deliberative  function  in  respect  of  military 
measures,  which  is  subsequently  extended  to  other  measures." 


G O VERNMENT  BY  TO WN  MEE TING.  19 

Roman  liistorian  Tacitus  wrote  of  our  German  ancestors. 
The  clan  had  then  ceased  to  move  from  place  to  place. 
Each  group  of  related  families  had  settled  down  in  its  own 
village,  on  its  own  spot  of  cleared  land  in  the  forest,  by 
spring  or  running  stream.  About  the  village  were  the 
flocks  and  herds  and  farms  of  the  village  community.  Sur- 
rounding  such  a  farmer  village  was  a  thick-set  hedge  or 
palisaded  wall  to  protect  it  from  its  enemies ;  and  each 
village,  with  its  farms,  was  separated  from  neighboring 
villages  by  a  belt  of  waste  or  uncultivated  land.  This  belt 
was  called  a  "  mark,"  and  the  protecting  hedge  or  wall 
was  called  a  "  tun  "  (pronounced  toon).  In  course  of  time 
all  within  the  mark,  including  the  village  itself,  became 
known  as  "  the  mark,"  "  the  tun,"  or  "  the  town."  Thus 
arose  the  English  words,  "  town  "  and  "  township."  At  first 
the  farm  lands  of  such  a  village  community  were  owned  in 
common,  and  once  a  year  in  early  spring  the  freemen  of  the 
town  gathered  in  "tungemote"  (town  meeting)  to  parcel 
out  these  common  lands  for  cultivation.  Here  on  a  high 
mound  or  under  the  spreading  branches  of  a  great  tree,  the 
"  tungemote "  decided  the  customs  of  tillage  and  voted 
"yes  "  or  "  no,"  on  the  question  of  admitting  strangers  to  the 
protection  of  the  tun,  and  to  a  share  of  the  common  lands.* 

1  For  a  complete  account  of  the  mark  system,  see  Stubbs'  Constitutional 
History  of  England,  Volume  I.,  Sections  23,  etc.  Fiske  says  :  «  The  Mark 
community  was  a  complete  self-governing  body.  The  assembly  of  the  marks- 
men, or  members  of  the  community,  allotted  lands  for  village  cultivation, 
determined  the  law,  or  declared  the  custom  as  to  methods  of  tillage,  fixed 
the  date  for  sowing  and  reaping,  voted  upon  the  admission  of  new  families 
into  the  village,  and  in  general  transacted  what  was  regarded  as  the  public 
business  of  the  community.  In  all  essential  respects  this  village  assembly  or 
mark-mote  would  seem  to  have  resembled  the  town  meetings  of  Nevr 
England." 


20  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

The  Town  Meeting  Carried  into  England. — The  Ger- 
man ancestors  of  the  English  crossed  the  North  Sea  to 
Britain  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries.  On  English  soil 
they  planted  the  "  tun "  and  set  up  the  town  meeting. 
Here,  as  in  the  forests  of  ancient  Germany,  the  freemen 
met  in  "tungemote,"  passed  "by-laws"  for  the  ordering 
of  the  town's  public  business,  and  chose  a  "  reeve  "  or 
head  man,  and  a  "tithingman,"  or  petty  constable. 

Next,  the  land  was  divided  into  parishes,  for  managing 
church  affairs ;  but  soon  town  and  church  affairs  came  to 
be  managed  in  one  meeting, -^.^  the  "vestry  meeting," — so 
that  the  town  was  practically  merged  with  the  parish. 
Soon,  also,  the  land  was  parcelled  out  into  great  estates, 
or  manors,  each  owned  by  a  lord ;  but  still  the  principle 
of  local  self-government  persisted  to  some  extent,  in  a 
meeting  of  the  tenants  called  the  Court  Leet  of  the  manor. 

The  Town  Meeting  in  America. — When  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  came  to  America  in  1620  they  brought  with  them 
the  principle  of  the  town  meeting.  Before  landing  from 
the  Mayflozver^  they  signed  a  written  document  which  laid 
down  a  plan  for  the  government  of  the  settlement  which 
they  proposed  to  found.  This  document  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  the  first  written  constitution  adopted  by  the 
people  of  America.  Under  it  every  freeman  was  to  have  a 
voice  and  vote  in  the  decision  of  public  affairs.  The  Pil- 
grims were  one  branch  of  the  great  body  of  religious  re- 
formers known  as  Puritans.  Soon  after  the  coming  of  the 
Pilgrims  great  numbers  of  Puritans  came  to  New  England, 
where  they  settled.  They  grouped  themselves  in  villages 
about  the  village  church,  each  village  surrounded  by  the 
farms  of  the  villagers,  much  as  the  ancestors  of  the  English 
had  grouped  themselves  in  the  ancient  German  mark.    Here 


GOVERNMENT  BY  TOWN  MEETING.  21 

in  its  primitive  simplicity  was  again  set  up  the  town  and  the 
town  meeting.  All  the  grown  men  of  a  New  England 
township  were  expected  to  attend  its  annual  town  meeting, 
held  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  to  pass  by-laws  and  to  elect 
town  officers. 

The  Town  Meeting  in  New  York. — The  Dutch,  who 
settled  New  York,  were  descendants  of  the  same  Low- 
German  stock  as  the  English.  Holland,  the  home  of  the 
Dutchmen,  "  early  became  an  aggregate  of  towns,  each  pro- 
viding  for  its  own  defense,  administering  its  own  finances 
and  governing  itself  by  its  own  laws.^  The  Dutch  brought 
the  principle  of  the  town  meeting  to  "  New  Netherland,"  as 
they  called  what  is  now  New  York ;  and  the  Dutch  settle- 
ments on  Long  Island,  and  along  the  Hudson  River,  were 
early  given  the  privilege  of  choosing  their  own  public  offi- 
cers and  making  by-laws  for  their  own  local  government 
"  according  to  the  customs  and  manners  of  Holland."^ 

In  1664  war  between  England  and  the  Netherlands  re- 
sulted in  New  Netherland  becoming  an  English  province. 
It  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English  Duke  of  York  and 
became  known  thereafter  as  New  York.  Under  English 
rule  town  meetings  were  established  in  New  York,  at  which 
the  landowners  elected  "  a  constable  and  eight  overseers  " 
who  acted  as  a  local  governing  board  for  the  town  with 
power  to  make  town  by-laws.'  This  form  of  government 
was  less  democratic  than  in  New  England,  where  the  town 
officers  simply  carried  out  the  wishes  of  the  town  meeting. 
In  the  next  chapter  will  be  described  town  government  as 
we  find  it  to-day  in  New  York. 

^^xoz.^^z.A\  History  of  New  York. 

'  Elting's  Dutch  Village  Communities  on  the  Hudson  River. 

'  Thwaites's  Colonies.  . 


22  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

Where  are  town  meetings  held  in  your  town  ? 

Are  these  meetings  held  in  a  single  place  for  the  town  as 
a  whole,  or  are  they  held  in  the  different  election  districts  ? 

What  is  the  date  of  the  next  biennial  town  meeting  in 
your  town  ? 

Who  may  vote  at  town  meetings  ? 

What  are  some  of  the  questions  that  may  be  decided  by 
the  voters  of  a  town  meeting  ? 

What  principle  of  government  is  common  to  the  ancient 
German  clan,  the  German  mark,  the  English  parish,  the 
court  leet  of  the  manor,  and  the  modern  town  meeting  ? 

In  what  way  were  the  early  town  meetings  of  New  Eng- 
land more  democratic  than  the  first  town  meetings  in  New 
York? 


CHAPTER   ni. 

Town  OfiBcers,  Their  Powers  and  Duties. 

In  the  New  York  town  meeting  we  saw  the  voters  pass- 
ing from  the  polling  booths,  each  with  an  official  ballot 
marked  and  folded,  to  deposit  it  in  the  ballot  box.  Here 
is  the  list  of  officers  to  be  elected  : 

Town  Officers. — One  Supervisor,  one  Town  Clerk,  two 
Assessors,  one  Collector,  one  or  two  Overseers  of  the  Poor, 
one  Superintendent  of  Highways,^  not  more  than  five 
Constables,  two  Inspectors  of  Election  for  each  election 
district  in  town,  two  Justices  of  the  Peace.  Each  is  chosen 
for  a  term  of  two  years,  except  that  the  justices  of  the 
peace  and  one  assessor  are  chosen  for  four.^ 

These  officers,  except  the  justices  of  the  peace,  are  known 
as  the  town's  Executive  Officers,  because  they  are  chosen 
to  execute  or  carry  out  the  will  of  the  people  as  resolved  in 
town  meeting,  and  to  execute  or  enforce  other  town  laws. 
Besides  these,  two  additional  inspectors  of  election  are  ap- 
pointed for  each  election  district  by  the  presiding  officer  of 
the  town  meeting,  from  among  the  inspectors  nominated  by 
the  political  party  that  cast  votes  next  in  number  to  the 
party  winning  the  election.  And  this  brings  us  to  the 
question :  How  are  the  names  of  persons  to  be  voted  for 
placed  on  the  official  ballot  ? 

iThe  Superintendent  of  Highways  may  be  appointed  by  the  town  board 
if  the  town  adopts  that  plan. 

2  There  are  at  any  time  three  assessors  for  each  town,  one  serving  a  two- 
year  term,  one  the  first  half  of  a  four-year  term,  and  one  the  last  half  of 
a  four-year  term.     In  a  few  counties  all  three  are  elected  for  two-year  terms. 

23 


24  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

Naming  Candidates  for  Office. — In  every  town  and  city 
of  New  York,  there  are,  as  we  know,  two  or  more  political 
parties — Republican,  Democratic,  Prohibition,  Socialist, 
etc., — whose  members  vote  for  public  officers.  The  voters 
of  each  party  in  a  town  meet  before  election  day,  at  the 
time  and  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  State  law,  each 
party  in  its  own  nominating  convention  or  primary  as- 
sembly. In  these  meetings  the  voters  choose  the  men 
whom  their  party  will  support  for  public  office  at  a  coming 
election.  These  "  nominations,"  as  they  are  called,  are  sent 
to  the  officers  whose  duty  it  is  to  prepare  the  official  bal- 
lots, and  the  names  are  placed  in  separate  party  columns  on 
the  ballot.  There  is  also  a  column  in  which  any  voter  may 
write  the  name  of  any  person  for  whom  he  wishes  to  vote, 
though  that  person  may  not  have  been  named  by  the  con- 
vention or  primary  assembly  of  any  party.  The  voter  takes 
an  official  ballot,  thus  prepared,  ^  into  the  voting  booth,  and 
there  indicates  by  a  pencil  mark  the  names  of  those  for 
whom  he  wishes  to  vote.  The  ballots  thus  marked  are  de- 
posited in  the  ballot  box,  the  nominee  receiving  the  most 
votes  for  a  particular  office  being  elected. 

Town  Executive  Officers — The  Supervisor. — The  chief 
executive  officer  of  the  town  is  the  supervisor.  This  is  a 
comparatively  modern  office,  the  first  supervisors  in  the 
towns  of  New  York  having  been  elected  under  a  State  law 
passed  in  1703.  The  supervisor  receives  and  pays  out  all 
moneys  raised  for  the  public  work  of  his  town,  except 
moneys  raised  for  highways  and  for  the  support  of  the  poor. 
Money  for  highways  goes  to  the  superintendent  of  high- 
ways, and  money  for  the  support  of  the  town  poor  to  the 
overseers  of  the  poor.  The  supervisor,  although  elected 
1  See  Chapter  XX.,  The  Conduct  of  Elections,  for  specimen  official  ballot. 


TOWN  OFFICERS,    THEIR   POWERS  AND   DUTIES.      7.5 

)y  the  people  of  the  town,  is  a  county  as  well  as  a  town 
officer ;  and  he  represents  his  town  in  the  law-making  body 
of  the  county  known  as  the  County  Board  of  Supervisors. 
This  custom  of  representing  the  town  in  the  county  board 
of  supervisors  may  be  traced  to  an  old  English  custom  of 
sending  the  "  reeve  "  or  head  man  of  each  town,  and  "  four 
discreet  men,"  to  represent  the  English  town  in  the  polit- 
ical gathering,  known  as  the  «'  shire  mote,"  (shire  meeting) 
the  English  shire  corresponding  to  our  county. 

The  Town  Clerk. — The  town  clerk  is  a  sort  of  general 
clerk  or  secretary  for  the  town.  He  keeps  a  record  of  the 
public  business  transacted  at  town  meetings,  and  has  charge 
of  books  and  papers  belonging  to  the  town.  Our  modern 
town  clerk  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  clerk  elected  by  the 
voters  of  the  parish  in  the  old  English  vestry  meeting. 

Superintendent  of  Highways. — The  town  superintend- 
ent of  highways  has  general  charge  of  building  and  main- 
taining roads  and  bridges  in  the  town.  Few  things  done 
by  the  government  are  of  greater  importance,  especially  to 
the  farmer,  who  must  haul  heavy  loads  to  market  at  various 
seasons.  Money  for  the  town  roads  is  supplied  partly  by 
the  State  and  partly  by  a  tax  levied  by  the  town  board 
(p.  28)  and  collected  like  the  general  town  tax.^ 

The  State  has  built  some  State  highways,  and  the  State, 
the  county  and  the  town  have  shared  the  cost  of  building 
some  county  highways  ;  toward  the  cost  of  maintaining 
these,  the  town  pays  a  fixed  sum  for  each  mile  of  such 
highways  in  the  town.     All  roads  must  be  built  and  re- 

1  For  every  dollar  of  tax  levied  by  the  town  for  ordinary  town  roads,  the 
State  contributes  an  amount  varying  from  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar,  depending 
on  the  amount  of  taxable  property  per  mile  of  roads  in  the  town.  Law  of 
1909,  Chapter  30. 


26  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW  YORK. 

paired  according  to  the  methods  prescribed  by  the  State 
highway  commission.  Under  these  provisions,  the  roads 
throughout  the  State  are  being  greatly  improved.  The 
old  earth  road,  "worked"  each  spring  by  the  taxpayers' 
own  unskilled  labor,  was  often  impassable.  It  is  being 
gradually  replaced  by  good  roads  of  improved  construc- 
tion, over  which  heavier  loads  can  be  more  easily  drawn. 

Overseers  of  the  Poor. — Persons  in  town  unable  to  care 
and  provide  for  themselves  or  who  have  no  relatives  to  sup- 
port them,  are  looked  after  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor. 
These  officers  may  assist  a  poor  person  at  his  own  home,  or 
send  him  to  the  County  Poor  House,  to  be  provided  for  at 
the  expense  of  the  town. 

Constables. — The  town  constable,  although  his  duties 
are  now  comparatively  humble,  may  boast  of  a  famous  de- 
scent. The  constable  comes  from  an  ancient  German  of- 
ficer known  as  the  "  tithingman,"  who  was  responsible  for 
the  good  behavior  of  ten  heads  of  families  in  the  old  Teu- 
tonic  division  known  as  "  The  Hundred,  "  ^  a  form  of  govern- 
ment next  above  the  German  mark.  In  England  the  con- 
stable  was  elected,  sometimes  by  the  townspeople,  some- 
times in  the  manor  court,  and  sometimes  in  the  vestry 
meeting.  His  duties  were  to  arrest  criminals  and  to  keep 
the  public  peace.  The  New  York  constable  carries  out 
the  legal  orders  of  the  justices  of  the  peace.  On  an  order 
from  a  magistrate  he  may  arrest  persons  accused  of  crime, 
or  he  may  arrest  suspected  persons  without  such  an  order. 
The  name  "  constable "  comes  from  two  Latin  words, 
"comes   stabuli,"    meaning   a   master   of   horse.     It   was 

iThe  Hundred  was  a  political  division  between  the  town  and  the  larger 
tribal  division  corresponding  to  our  county.  The  State  of  Delaware  is  to-day 
divided  into  "  Hundreds." 


TOIVN  OFFICERS,    7 HEIR  POWERS  AND  DUTIES.     27 

formerly  applied  by  the  kings  of  France  to  commanders  of 
the  army.  The  name  was  introduced  into  England  with  the 
Norman  Conquest,  and  soon  came  to  mean  an  officer  who 
supported  the  king  in  preserving  the  public  peace. 

Assessors  and  Collector. —  The  assessors  fix,  for  pur- 
poses of  taxation,  the  value  of  each  man's  taxable  property, 
the  amount  of  the  tax  which  each  individual  taxpayer  is  to 
pay  being  found  by  comparing  the  value  of  his  taxable 
property  with  the  total  value  of  the  property  in  town  sub- 
ject to  taxation.  The  collector  collects  each  person's  share 
of  the  taxes,  after  it  has  been  determined  by  the  proper  of- 
ficers. ^ 

Inspectors  of  Election — Four  inspectors  of  election  pre- 
side at  each  polling  place  ^  of  the  town  meetings  or  other 
public  elections.  They  receive  the  official  ballots  from  the 
voters,  place  them  in  the  ballot  boxes,  and  count  the  bal- 
lots at  the  close  of  election. 

The  Justice  of  the  Peace The  justice  of  the   peace  is 

the  town's  judicial  officer,  and  each  town  has  four  justices 
elected  for  terms  of  four  years  each.  The  justice  of  the 
peace  hears  and  determines  suits  at  law,  where  the  sum  sued 
for  does  not  exceed  ^200,  and  he  tries  persons  accused  of 
petty  offenses.  He  issues  warrants  ^  for  the  arrest  of  persons 
suspected  of  crime,  and  though  he  may  not  try  persons  for 
grave  offenses,  such  as  murder  and  burglary,  he  may  ex- 
amine them  when  arrested  and  brought  before  him,  and  send 
them  to  jail  till  they  can  be  tried  by  the  higher  courts.  A 
justice  of  the  peace  may  order  a  constable  to  summon  be- 

1  See  Chap.  XIX.,     Assessment  and  Collection  of  Taxes. 
'  A  town  meeting  may  sometimes  be  divided,  the  voters  of  each  part  of  the 
meeting  casting  their  ballots  at  separate  polling  places. 
*  See  Chap.  XVI.,     How  Criminals  are  Brought  to  Justice, 


28  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

fore  him  twelve  citizens  of  the  town,  who  are  property 
owners,  from  among  whom  six  may  be  drawn  as  a  Justice's 
Jury,  to  aid  in  determining  the  facts  in  suits  tried  before  the 
justice.  The  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  may  be  traced 
to  an  old  English  officer  known  as  Conservator  of  the 
Peace  whose  duty  it  was  to  afford  protection  against  unlaw- 
ful  force  and  violence,  common  during  many  periods  of 
early  English  history. 

The  Town  Board. — Nearly  all  officers  of  the  town  re- 
ceive and  pay  out  town  money  in  the  discharge  of  their 
public  duties.  They  account  for  this  money  before  what  is 
known  as  the  town  board.  This  is  composed  of  the  su- 
pervisor, town  clerk,  and  justices  of  the  peace,  or  any  two 
of  the  justices.  Any  person  having  a  claim  against  the 
town  may  present  it  to  the  town  board,  which  may  allow 
or  reject  it.  Appeals  from  decisions  of  the  town  board 
may  be  taken  to  the  county  board  of  supervisors,  which 
has  power  to  reverse  the  decision  of  the  town  board.  A 
town  may  elect  three  Auditors  to  examine  the  accounts  of 
its  officers,  instead  of  having  them  examined  by  the  town 
board. 

Pay  of  Town  Officers. — Most  of  the  town  officers  above 
described  are  paid  from  two  dollars  to  six  dollars  a  day  for 
each  day  of  actual  service  to  the  town.  Justices  of  the 
peace,  town  clerks,  and  constables  are  also  paid  for  certain 
services  in  fees  fixed  by  State  law. 

Three  Departments  of  Government. — In  our  study  of 
the  town  we  have  seen  that  its  public  work  is  of  three  quite 
distinct  and  separate  kinds — first,  the  making  of  the  town 
by-laws  by  the  voters  assembled  in  town  meeting ;  second, 
the  carrying  out  or  executing  of  the  laws  by  executive 
officers  elected  at  the  biennial  town  meeting  ;  and,  third,  the 


M       TOW  A 
l^rork  of  11 


TOIVN  OFFICERS,    THEIR   POWERS  AND  DUTIES.      29 

^ork  of  judging  criminals  and  trying  civil  suits  at  law,  per- 
formed by  justices  of  the  peace.  These  three  kinds  of  work 
are  known  respectively  as  legislative  or  lawmaking,  execu- 
tive  or  law-enforcing,  and  judicial ;  and  as  we  study  the  gov- 
ernments of  city,  county,  and  State,  and  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  we  shall  find  these  three  departments — 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial — running  through  them 
all. 

The  Town  and  the  State. — ^Thus  far  we  have  spoken 
almost  entirely  of  the  town  as  a  self-governing  political 
unit,  whose  people  make  their  own  laws,  and  enforce  them 
by  officers  of  their  own  choosing.  We  have  seen,  however, 
that  the  town  is  a  part  of  the  county,  and  that  county 
officers  may  in  some  instances  interfere  in  town  matters. 
We  shall  also  see  that  the  State  government  is  superior  to 
both  town  and  county.  Our  New  York  town  meetings  are 
conducted  in  strict  accordance  with  a  plan  laid  down  by  the 
law  of  the  State,  while  the  powers  and  duties  of  town 
officers  are  fixed  by  State  law.  The  State,  while  it  leaves 
to  the  people  of  each  town,  large  freedom  in  managing 
their  own  local  public  affairs,  thus  provides  a  uniform  plan 
of  government  for  all  the  towns. 

Paramount  Importance  of  Local  Government. — This 
local  self-government  of  town  and  county  under  the  State 
law,  gives  at  once  stability  and  elasticity  to  our  institutions. 
It  permits  freedom  of  action  and  self-help  in  every  locality, 
and  at  the  same  time  gives  strength  and  uniformity  through- 
out the  State.  While  it  is  important  to  have  a  State  gov- 
ernment strong  enough  to  defend  the  people  from  public 
enemies,  and  able  to  maintain  justice,  it  is  supremely  im- 
portant that  all  possible  freedom  be  allowed  the  people  in 
the  management  of  their  local  affairs,  such  as  is  provided  in 


30  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

the  government  of  the  town  meeting.  In  this  meeting  the 
people  come  face  to  face  with  questions  concerning  their 
personal  and  financial  interests.  They  examine,  discuss, 
and  decide  these  questions  largely  for  themselves.  Before 
they  vote  money  for  public  improvements  they  must  know 
where  it  is  coming  from,  and  that  ultimately  it  will  come  out 
of  their  own  pockets.  They  learn  prudence  as  they  de- 
velop strength  in  self-government.  In  the  government  of 
their  own  town  they  tend  to  acquire  the  skill  and  knowledge 
necessary  to  govern  the  State  and  the  nation,  and  if  need 
be,  to  extend  our  sway  over  foreign  peoples  in  distant  col- 
onies. 

Things  to  Remember. — In  our  study  of  the  town  and  its 
government  we  should  remember  : 

1 .  That  the  town  is  a  municipal  corporation  or  body 
politic,  having  many  powers  of  self-government  conferred 
upon  it  by  State  law ; 

2.  That  the  town  is  a  subdivision  of  the  county  for  pur- 
poses of  county  government,  the  supervisor  of  the  town 
being  its  representative  in  the  county  board  of  super- 
visors ; 

3.  That  the  town  by-laws  are  made  by  the  voters  of  the 
town  assembled  in  town  meeting ;  that  they  are  enforced  by 
the  town's  executive  officers — supervisor,  town  clerk,  con- 
stable, etc. ;  that  the  justice  of  the  peace  is  the  judicial 
officer  of  the  town  ;  that  these  three  departments  of  govern- 
ment— legislative,  executive  and  judicial — extend  through- 
out our  county,  city.  State,  and  national  governments ; 

4.  That  the  town  meeting,  representing  the  primary  as- 
sembly of  freemen,  is  the  oldest  form  of  government  known 
to  the  ancestors  of  the  English-speaking  people ;  appearing 
at  different  times  as  the  assembly  of  the  clan,  the  mark,  the 


^m      TO  pvj\ 


TOPVJV  OFFICERS,    THEIR   POWERS  AND   DUTIES.      31 

"parish  and  the  manor ;  and  that  this  gathering  of  the  free- 
men in  mark-mote,  vestry  meeting,  manor  court,  and  town 
meeting,  where  by  majority  vote  of  "  yes  "  and  "  no,"  they 
order  the  pubhc  affairs,  is  our  nearest  approach  to  that 
direct  democratic  government  described  by  President  Lin- 
coln as  "  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people." 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  officers  are  elected  at  a  biennial  town  meeting? 
For  what  terms  of  office  ? 

Describe  the  official  ballot  voted  at  town  meeting. 

How  are  the  names  of  candidates  for  town  officers  placed 
on  the  official  ballot? 

What  officers  constitute  the  town's  executive  officers? 
Why  are  they  so  called  ? 

Of  what  county  law-making  body  is  the  town  supervisor  a 
member  ? 

Describe  the  duties  of  the  town  clerk,  highway  super- 
intendent, overseers  of  the  poor,  constables,  assessors, 
inspectors  of  election,  town  board. 

The  justice  of  the  peace  is  called  the  town's  judicial 
officer.     What  does  that  mean  } 

Describe  some  good  roads ;  some  bad  roads. 

ADDITIONAL   READING. 

For  a  comparison  of  different  kinds  of  township  government  in 
the  United  States,  including  the  New  York  town,  see  Bryce's  Amer- 
ican Commonwealth,  Volume  I.,  Chapter  XLVIII.  On  the  origin 
of  the  township,  read  The  Germanic  Origin  of  New  England  Towns, 
by  Herbert  B,  Adams,  in  Volume  I.  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University 
Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science  ;  also  "The  Township," 


32  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

in  Howard's  Local  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States,  in 
the  same  series.  For  an  account  of  the  transfer  of  the  German  mark 
government  to  Enghsh  soil,  and  the  development  therefrom  of  the 
English  parish  and  the  English  manor,  see  Hannis  Taylor's  Origin 
and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution,  Part  I  ;  also  Stubbs's  Con- 
stitutional History  of  England,  Volume  I.,  Sections  20  to  45.  For  a 
picturesque  description  of  the  mark  system  of  government  as  it  ap- 
pears in  modern  times  in  the  smaller  Swiss  Cantons,  see  Freeman's 
Growth  of  the  English  Constitution  From  the  Earliest  Times,  Chapter  I. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Village  and  its  Government. 

As  we  drive  along  a  road  in  the  country,  a  sudden  turn 
of  the  road,  or  an  opening  in  the  trees  ahead  of  us,  will 
sometimes  show  us,  all  at  once,  as  if  set  in  the  frame  of  a 
picture,  the  roofs  and  walls  of  half  a  hundred  cottages, 
rising  from  the  masses  of  green  foliage  surrounding  them  ; 
while  from  the  center  of  the  clustering  mass  a  church  spire 
points  its  sharp  finger  skyward.  As  we  go  nearer,  paved 
or  wooden  sidewalks  replace  the  footpath  along  the  road. 
We  see  a  store  or  two,  a  blacksmith's  shop,  a  shoemaker's 
sign,  a  post  office,  a  schoolhouse  and  a  mill.  Perhaps  there 
is  a  factory  with  rows  of  staring  windows  and  rumbling 
machinery.  Such  a  spot  of  busy  hfe,  set  among  green 
fields  and  surrounded  by  farms  and  rural  scenery,  we  call  a 
village.  It  may  have  grown  up  near  a  waterfall  or  rapids 
that  afforded  water  power,  or  on  the  banks  of  a  navigable 
river  or  lake,  or  on  a  railroad  or  canal ;  or  it  may  have 
none  of  these  advantages.  There  is  always  some  reason  for 
the  location  of  a  village,  however.  If  you  live  in  or  near 
a  village,  you  should  find  why  it  was  located  where  it  is. 

Such  a  village  may  or  may  not  have  its  own  local  govern- 
ment distinct  from  the  government  of  the  town  in  which  it 
has  grown  up.  If  it  is  a  village  with  a  population  of  at  least 
200  persons,  all  living  within  a  square  mile,^  its  people  may, 
under  the  law  of  the  State,  vote  to  form  themselves  into  a 
distinct  municipal  corporation,  with  a  village  government. 

^  Or  occupying  a  whole  town  ;  Laws  of  1909,  Chapter  64.  Qiapter  258  of 
the  Laws  of  19 10  makes  the  minimum  population  50  under  certain  conditions. 

32 


34  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK, 

Why  a  Separate  Village  Government. — Why  should 
the  people  of  such  a  village  wish  a  government  independent 
of  the  town  government  under  which  they  live  ?  Because 
in  a  village  sidewalks  and  curbs  must  be  built,  streets  must 
be  macadamized  or  paved  and  kept  clean,  refuse  must  be 
removed,  street  lamps  must  be  erected  and  lighted,  water- 
works and  sewers  must  be  established,  a  fire  engine  must 
be  provided,  special  rules  must  be  enforced  to  preserve  the 
public  health,  policemen  must  b,e  employed  and  paid,  and 
many  other  common  public  wants  must  be  supplied,  which 
are  not  demanded  by  the  people  in  the  sparsely  settled 
farming  districts  of  the  town.^  It  would  not  be  just  to  ask 
the  farmers  of  the  town  to  help  pay  for  the  street  lamps 
and  waterworks  of  the  village  ;  and  it  would  not  be  right  for 
these  farmers  to  interfere  in  matters  which  concern  the 
villagers  alone.  So  a  village  government  is  set  up  within 
the  town,  but  separate  from  it,  to  do  the  pubUc  business  of 
the  village. 

The  Village  Still  a  Part  of  the  Town.— Such  a  sepa- 
rate village  government  does  not,  however,  exempt  the 
village  people  from  the  operations  of  the  government  of  the 
town  in  which  the  village  is  situated.  The  village  is  still  a 
part  of  the  town  for  town  purposes,  and  the  villagers  must 
join  with  the  farmers  of  the  town,  and  with  the  residents 
of  other  villages,  in  attending  town  meeting,  and  in  electing 
a  supervisor,  town  clerk,  and  other  town  officers. 

Plan  of  Village  Government.— As  the  State  law  lays 
down  the  general  plan  for  the  government  of  the  town,  so  it 
lays  down  the  general  plan  of  village  government ;  but  the 
State  leaves  to  the  people  of  the  village,  as  it  leaves  to  the 

1  The  demand  for  graded  and  higher  schools  is  often  met  by  the  formation 
of  a  union  free  school  district.     See  Chapter  XVIII.,  "The  Public  Schools." 


THE    VILLAGE  AND   ITS   GOVERNMENT.  35 

people  of  the  town,  the  actual  management  and  carrying  on 
of  their  own  local  government.^  The  State  permits  the 
people  of  the  village  to  make  local  by-laws  or  ordinances 
to  regulate  the  conduct  of  persons  within  the  village,  as  it 
permits  the  town  meeting  to  make  by-laws  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  town.  The  village,  like  the  town,  also  elects 
its  own  village  officers  to  enforce  its  by-laws. 

The  Village  Charter. — In  former  times,  when  the 
people  of  a  certain  territory  had  voted  to  incorporate  them- 
selves into  a  village  and  had  decided  upon  its  boundaries 
and  the  details  of  its  government,  they  took  the  plan  to  the 
State  legislature  at  Albany,  and  asked  that  it  be  enacted 
into  law.  If  the  legislature  considered  the  plan  for  the 
proposed  village  and  its  government  satisfactory,  the  plan 
was  enacted  into  law,  and  became  the  Village  Charter. 
Special  village  charters  thus  formed  still  occupy  many 
pages  in  the  statute  books  of  the  State,  and  they  may  be 
as  carefully  drawn  and  as  elaborate  as  the  State  Constitu- 
tion. The  following  paragraphs  refer  especially  to  villages 
organized  under  the  general  State  law  which  serves  as  the 
charter  for  many  villages. 

Four  Classes  of  Villages. — The  State  law  divides  vil- 
lages into  four  classes,  as  follows  :  First  class,  villages  with 
a  population  of  5,000  and  over;  second,  population  be- 
tween 3,000  and  5,000;  third,  population  between  1,000 
and  3,000;  fourth,  population  less  than  1,000.     There  are 

1  Article  XII.,  section  i,  of  the  New  York  State  Constitution  says:  "It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Legislature  to  provide  for  the  organization  of  cities 
and  incorporated  villages,  to  restrict  their  power  of  taxation,  assessment, 
borrowing  money,  contracting  debts  and  loaning  their  credit,  so  as  to  prevent 
abuses  in  assessments  and  in  contracting  debt  by  such  municipal  corpora- 
tions." Under  this  rule  the  Legislature  has  provided  a  general  plan  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  villages  of  the  State. 


•36  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

different  State  laws  governing  the  villages  of  each  particular 
class,  although  each  separate  village,  as  before  said,  makes 
its  own  local  by-laws  or  village  ordinances. 

The  Village  Trustees. — The  village  by-laws  are  made 
by  a  body  of  officers  called  the  village  board  of  trustees. 
A  village  trustee  must  own  a  house,  land  or  other  prop- 
erty, on  which  taxes  are  paid  to  carry  on  the  village  gov- 
ernment ;  and  the  State  law  requires  every  village  to  have 
at  least  two  trustees.  Villages  of  the  fourth  or  third  class 
may  have  as  many  as  four ;  second  class,  six ;  first  class, 
eight.  The  village  trustees  have  the  management  of  any 
public  property  belonging  to  the  village,  such  as  the  village 
lock-up,  fire  engines  and  engine  houses,  or  the  village 
waterworks.  They  also  have  control  of  its  public  money. 
Village  trustees  serve  without  pay.  They  are  elected — one 
half  the  board  each  year — at  the  Annual  Village  Election, 
which  takes  place  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  March  or  the 
third  Tuesday  in  June.^  The  right  to  vote  for  village  offi- 
cers is  given  to  male  residents  of  the  village  who  have  the 
usual  qualifications  of  voters  (p.  135). 

Powers  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  —  Among  the  powers 
given  by  State  law  to  the  village  board  of  trustees  are  the 
following : 

Power  to  establish  a  village  lockup,  pound,  clock,  scales,  and 
market  ;  to  establish  village  fire  limits,  name  streets,  employ  a  village 
attorney,  construct  drains  and  regulate  water  courses,  establish  and 
regulate  the  village  water  supply,  and  provide  lights  ;  and  the  trus- 
tees, as  a  board,  have  all  the  powers  of  separate  boards  of  fire,  water, 
light,  sewer,  and  cemetery  commissioners,^  if  the  village  have  no  such 

1  Unless  a  town  meeting  in  which  the  villagers  take  part  is  held  on  that 
day;  in  such  case  the  village  election  is  held  the  day  after.  A  separate  date 
is  provided  for  the  village  election,  so  that  village  affairs  may  not  be  unduly 
influenced  by  town  affairs,  or  by  State  or  national  politics. 


THE    VILLAGE  AND   ITS   GOVERNMENT.  37 

sqjarate  boards.^  The  trustees  may  make  ordinances  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  peace  and  order  in  the  streets  and  public  places  of  the 
village,  regulate  public  amusements,  regulate  the  speed  of  locomotives 
and  cars  at  street  crossings,  subject  to  the  State  railroad  law  ;  regu- 
late the  use  and  sale  of  fireworks,  inflammable  materials,  and  gunpow- 
der, and  may  issue  certain  uniform  licenses.  The  board  holds  an 
annual  meeting  on  the  Monday  following  the  annual  village  election. 
A  majority,  including  the  village  president,  constitute  a  quorum  to 
do  business.  Laws  made  by  the  board  are  known  as  village  ordi- 
nances. 

The  Village  President. — The  village  president  is  the 
chief  executive  officer  of  the  village.  He  is  elected  at  the 
village  election,  and  he  holds  office  for  one  year.  He  acts 
as  president  of  the  village  board  of  trustees,  and  has  a  vote 
in  that  body.  He  is  the  head  of  the  village  police  force, 
and  he  must  see  that  all  by-laws  and  resolutions  of  the  vil- 
lage boards  are  carried  out.  He  may  sue  in  the  name 
of  the  village  for  any  penalties  due  it.  He  serves  without 
pay,  and  must  own  property  paying  taxes  to  the  village.^ 

Other  Executive  Officers. — Other  executive  officers  of 
the  village  are  Treasurer,  Collector,  Assessors,  Clerk,  Street 
Commissioner,  and  Village  Engineer.  The  first  three  are 
elected  by  the  voters  and  serve  for  one  year ;  the  others 
may  be  appointed  by  the  board,  or  the  clerk  and  street 
commissioner  may  be  elected.  Every  village  must  have  a 
Board  of  Health  of  from  three  to  seven  members,  appointed 
by  the  trustees.  This  board  elects  a  Health  Officer,  who 
must  be  a  physician.     The  board  takes  measures  to  do 

^  Such  separate  boards  usually  consist  of  three  commissioners  each,  ap- 
pointed by  the  trustees.  Or  a  "  municipal  board "  of  three  or  five  com- 
missioners may  be  appointed  to  exercise  the  powers  of  all  such  boards. 

2  In  villages  of  over  14,000  population,  however,  the  president  holds  office 
two  years,  is  salaried,  and  the  voters  may  establish  a  separate  board  of  police 
commissioners. 


38  GOVERNMENT   OE  NEW    YORK. 

away  with  public  nuisances,  such  as  open  drains  and  cess- 
pools, and  makes  regulations  to  prevent  the  introduction 
and  spread  of  disease.  The  village  treasurer  receives  and 
handles  the  public  moneys  of  the  village  raised  by  taxation 
and  otherwise.  The  village  clerk  has  charge  of  the  public 
documents  and  records  of  the  village  and  of  its  corporation 
seal.  He  also  acts  as  clerk  of  the  village  board  of  trustees. 
The  village  street  commissioner  has,  under  the  direction  of 
the  village  trustees,  the  general  care  and  supervision  of  the 
public  streets,^  parks,  walks,  culverts  and  wells  of  the  vil- 
lage. The  compensation  and  power  of  all  these  officers  are 
largely  fixed  by  the  village  board  of  trustees. 

The  Village  Police  Court. — A  Police  Justice  may  be 
elected  every  four  years  by  the  voters  of  a  village.  Persons 
charged  with  offenses  against  the  village  ordinances  are 
brought  before  the  police  justice,  tried  and  sentenced.  The 
police  justice,  like  a  justice  of  the  peace,  may  also  com- 
mand the  arrest  of  criminals ;  and  he  may  hold  a  Court  of 
Special  Sessions  for  the  trial  of  misdemeanors  committed 
in  the  village. 

Special  Village  Elections. — A  special  village  election, 
similar  to  a  town  meeting,  may  be  held,  whenever  a  question 
of  interest  to  the  villagers  is  to  be  decided,  or  such  a  question 
may  be  decided  at  the  regular  election.  At  such  elections 
each  proposition  must  be  voted  upon  by  ballot,  and  no  per- 
son may  vote  on  a  proposition,  unless  he  owns  property 
paying  taxes  to  the  village.^     Thus  the  village  taxpayers 

^  The  cost  of  pavement,  curbs,  sidewalks,  or  a  sewer  on  a  street  is  paid 
sometimes  by  the  property  owners  on  the  street,  sometimes  by  the  village,  and 
sometimes  partly  by  each. 

2  Women  taxpayers  may  vote  on  a  village  proposition,  af  m  possession  of 
the  other  qualifications  of  voters. 


THE    VILLAGE  AND  ITS   GOVERNMENT.  39 

decide  such  questions  as,  "  Shall  garbage,  or  ashes,  or  both, 
be  removed  from  the  buildings  in  the  village  at  public  ex- 
pense?" "  Shall  the  village  establish  or  purchase  a  sys- 
tem of  waterworks  ?  "  "  Shall  it  put  in  electric  lights  ? " 
"  Shall  it  have  a  separate  board  of  water  commissioners  ? " 

Important  Questions. — Among  the  most  important 
problems  likely  to  arise  in  any  village,  is  the  question 
whether  waterworks  or  a  lighting  plant  (gas  or  electric 
light)  should  be  owned  by  the  village  corporation. 

What  are  the  advantages  of  private  ownership  as  com- 
pared with  public  ownership?  Business  enterprises  are 
usually  conducted  more  economically  and  efficiently  when 
under  the  control  of  an  individual  or  a  private  company, 
than  when  under  the  control  of  public  officials.  PoUtical 
pressure  is  often  brought  to  bear  on  pubhc  officers,  so  as 
to  increase  the  cost  of  building  and  operating  public  works. 
Government  employees  usually  receive  higher  wages  than 
company  employees,  and  sometimes  use  their  influence  as 
voters  to  have  their  wages  raised  still  higher. 

What  are  the  advantages  of  public  ownership  ?  Capital 
for  the  construction  of  public  enterprises  can  be  borrowed 
at  a  lower  rate  of  interest  than  for  private  enterprises.  A 
village  or  city  government  is  under  strong  influence  to 
charge  private  consumers  of  water  and  light  as  low  rates 
as  possible,  and  has  little  temptation  to  do  otherwise ;  while 
a  private  company  naturally  desires  large  profits  from  the 
business,  so  that  the  economies  of  private  management  tend 
to  increase  profits  instead  of  lowering  rates.  Because  of 
the  lower  interest  charges  to  be  met,  it  is  possible  for  an 
honest  and  efficient  village  or  city  government  to  supply 
water  and  light,  both  for  the  public  streets  and  for  private 
consumption,  at  lower  rates  than  a  private  company  can. 


40  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

Moreover,  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  for  municipal 
ownership  is  that  it  would  put  an  end  to  a  powerful  cor- 
rupting influence — that  of  rich  private  companies  intent 
upon  securing  special  favors  from  public  officers. 

An  increasing  number  of  villages  and  cities  in  this  coun- 
try are  building  or  buying  their  waterworks  and  electric- 
lighting  plants,  especially  the  former.  The  cost  of  such 
undertakings  is  usually  met  by  issuing  bonds  payable  in 
thirty  years. ^  When  a  franchise  is  granted  to  a  private- 
company  its  terms  should  be  carefully  discussed,  and  the 
interests  of  the  village  should  be  properly  safeguarded.  It 
is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  village  or  city  to  pay  large  sums 
to  buy  back  a  too  liberal  franchise  that  was  recklessly  or 
dishonestly  given  away  in  the  first  place. 

An  adequate  water  supply  is  needed  partly  for  use  in 
putting  out  fires.  In  most  villages  large  enough  to  have 
any  fire  apparatus,  companies  of  volunteer  firemen  are 
organized  to  operate  it.  In  villages  of  the  first  or  second 
class,  however,  a  few  paid  firemen  may  be  employed. 

Things  to  Remember. — The  village,  like  the  town,  may 
be  organized  as  a  municipal  corporation,  with  its  village 
government  independent  of  town  government;  but  the 
people  of  such  a  village  are  still  a  part  of  their  town  and 
subject  to  town  government. 

The  village  lawmakers  are  its  president  and  board  of 
trustees.  The  president  is  also  the  chief  executive  officer 
of  the  village.  The  village  police  justice  is  its  judicial 
officer,  though  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  town  in 
which  a  village  is  located,  may  exercise  his  powers  in  the 
village. 

1  Often  the  cost  of  construction  and  operation  may  be  reduced  by  combin- 
ing the  waterworks  and  lighting  plant  under  one  management. 


THE   VILLAGE  AND   ITS   GOVERNMENT.  41 

Special  village  elections,  similar  to  town  meetings,  may 
be  held  in  a  village  to  decide,  "  yes  "  or  "  no,"  by  vote  of 
its  taxpayers,  questions  ot  interest  to  the  village. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

Why  does  a  village  need  a  government  independent  of 
the  government  of  the  town  in  which  it  is  situated  ? 

What  are  village  ordinances  ?     By  whom  are  they  made  ? 

Tell  how  a  village  may  obtain  a  charter  form  of  govern- 
ment. 

What  name  is  given  to  a  member  of  the  village  legislative 
body  ? 

Name  some  of  the  powers  of  the  village  board  of  trus- 
tees. 

What  is  the  chief  executive  officer  in  a  village  govern- 
ment ? 

What  judicial  officer  in  the  village  government  corre- 
sponds to  the  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  town  government  ? 

Name  some  purposes  for  which  a  special  village  election 
may  be  held.  Who  may  vote  at  such  elections  ?  What 
distinction  is  made  between  the  voters  at  a  special  village 
election,  and  those  who  may  vote  for  village  officers } 

To  what  class  does  your  village  belong  .?  Is  it  organized 
under  the  general  law  or  under  a  special  charter  .?  What 
natural  advantages  or  conditions  caused  the  growth  of 
your  village  ? 

Does  your  village  have  public  or  private  waterworks } 
A  pubHc  or  a  private  lighting  plant  ?  Answer  these  ques- 
tions also  for  other  near-by  villages.  How  do  the  water 
and  light  rates  in  your  village  compare  with  those  in  others.? 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Government  of  Cities. 

A  CITY  is  a  village  grown  large,  and  all  that  has  been  said 
of  the  need  and  value  of  a  separate  government  for  the  in- 
corporated village,  applies  with  even  greater  force  to  the 
city.  The  village  contains  a  few  hundreds  or  thousands  of 
people  with  common  public  interests,  but  the  city  has  a  pop- 
ulation of  tens  or  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  has  highly 
organized  and  complex  public  activities.  The  few  hundred 
rods  of  sidewalk  and  roads  in  the  village,  become  miles  of 
sidewalk  and  paved  streets  in  the  city,  traversed  by  horse 
and  electric  railroads,  honeycombed  with  sewers  and  gas 
pipes,  crossed  and  lined  by  thousands  of  telegraph  and  tele- 
phone connections,  and  studded  with  a  forest  of  street  lamps. 
The  village  needs  a  constable  or  two  to  keep  the  peace ;  but 
the  city  must  have  its  trained  and  disciplined  police  army, 
with  detective  bureau,  station  houses,  patrol  wagons  and 
city  prison. 1  The  village  spends  a  few  thousands  of  dollars 
to  bring  pure  water  from  near-by  springs  into  its  streets  and 
houses ;  but  the  city  must  spend  hundreds  of  thousands, 
perhaps  millions,  on  its  system  of  waterworks.  It  must 
have  costly  aqueducts  and  water  stations,  and  employ  a 
corps  of  trained  engineers.  The  village  may  have  its  single 
fire  engine  and  volunteer  fire  company ;  but  the  city  must 
have  a  paid  fire  department,  with  perhaps  hundreds  of  sig- 
nal stations  and  dozens  of  engines.  A  city  may  have  its 
street-cleaning  department,  its  charities  department,  its  park 

1  The  police  help  to  enforce  a  vast  number  of  laws  and  city  ordinances; 
patrol  the  city  night  and  day  to  prevent  crime  and  to  protect  life  and  property; 
guard  street  crossings  to  regulate  traffic  and  prevent  accidents  ;  attend  large 
meetings  to  keep  order;  and  have  many  special  duties, 

42 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES.  43 

department,  its  department  of   law,  arid  its  department  of 
finance — all  under  competent  and  well-paid  ofificers. 

Special  Forms  of  City  Government. — To  do  the  vast  and 
complicated  public  work  of  a  city  requires  a  special  form  of 
government,  depending  on  the  size  and  location  of  the  city. 
But  though  differing  in  detail,  the  general  plan  of  govern- 
ment for  cities  is  much  the  same  throughout  the  State. 
Each  city,  like  each  town  and  incorporated  village,  is  a 
municipal  corporation  having  its  own  local  legislative,  exec- 
utive, and  judicial  ofificers ;  each  makes  and  enforces  its  own 
local  by-laws  or  city  ordinances,  as  they  are  called  ;  and  each 
is  dependent  upon  the  State  for  its  particular  form  of  mu- 
nicipal government. 

City  Charters. — Up  to  within  a  comparatively  recent 
time  there  have  been  few  general  State  laws  for  the  govern- 
ment of  cities  in  New  York ;  but  each  village,  as  it  became 
large  enough  to  feel  the  need  of  a  city  government,  has 
framed  a  special  plan  of  government  for  itself,  and  applied 
to  the  State  legislature  to  have  it  enacted  into  law.  Such 
a  plan  of  city  government,  defining  the  powers  and  duties 
of  city  officers,  is  called  a  charter.  Changes  in  it  are  made, 
when  necessary,  by  act  of  the  State  legislature. 

Ancient  Charters. — The  practice  of  giving  special  char- 
ters to  particular  cities  by  the  governing  power  in  the  state, 
is  a  very  old  one ;  and  many  rights  and  liberties  which  the 
people  now  enjoy  have  come  down  to  us  through  this  cus- 
tom. In  very  early  times  the  kings  of  England  and  other 
European  countries  had  almost  unlimited  power  over  the 
people  living  on  the  great  estates  and  in  the  cities  of  their 
realms.  The  king  parcelled  out  the  land  to  his  chief  war- 
riors and  nobles,  who  lived  in  great  fortified  castles,  and 
were  bound  to  serve  him  and  fight  for  him,  and  to  furnish 


44  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

soldiers  for  the  king's  army  in  payment  for  the  use  of  their 
lands.  As  cities  increased  in  size  and  men  began  to  turn 
their  attention  from  fighting  and  farming  to  trading  and 
manufacturing,  it  became  customary  for  the  people  of  a  city, 
when  called  upon  to  furnish  soldiers  for  the  army  of  the 
king  or  their  overlord,  to  pay  instead  a  sum  of  money. 
This  custom  gradually  grew  into  the  plan  of  paying  an  an- 
nual rent  to  the  king  or  lord.  But  it  sometimes  happened 
that  the  king  or  lord  of  a  city  wanted  more  money  than  its 
customary  rent.  At  such  times  the  city  might  pay  the 
money  demanded,  on  condition  that  its  lord  give  it  some 
privilege  or  right  of  self-government,  such,  for  example,  as 
the  right  to  have  a  city  court  with  a  judge  chosen  by  the 
people,  instead  of  appointed  by  the  lord.  The  rights  thus 
given  at  different  times  to  a  city  were  preserved,  and  to- 
gether formed  its  charter,  which  its  king  or  lord  could  not 
lawfully  violate.  The  great  city  of  London,  thus  obtained 
in  the  year  I  lOi  from  King  Henry  I.  of  England  the  right 
to  elect  its  own  chief  magistrate  and  sheriff. 

Origin  of  the  English  Boroughs At  its  beginning  the 

English  city  was  little  more  than  an  ordinary  Enghsh  town- 
ship more  thickly  populated  than  usual.  Such  towns  grew 
up  at  the  mouths  of  rivers,  on  bays  or  arms  of  the  sea,  or 
at  the  meeting  of  highways  where  the  people  gathered  for 
manufacture  or  trade.  As  such  a  town  increased  in  popula- 
tion, and  its  inhabitants  became  wealthy,  a  high  and  thick 
stone  wall,  with  heavy  gates  and  towers  that  could  be  de- 
fended against  bands  of  robbers  or  other  enemies,  took  the 
place  of  the  original  hedge  or  protecting  "  tun."  The  town 
was  now  called  a  "  burh  "  or  borough,  which  means  a  fortified 
place.  Within  the  walled  borough,  government  went  on 
much   as   in  the  ordinary  town.     The  free  townspeople  or 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES.  45 

«  burghers  "  met  in  "  borough  mote  "(  borough  meeting), 
chose  a  head  man  or  **  borough  reeve,"  and  made  by-laws 
for  the  government  of  the  borough.  Sometimes  the  bor- 
ough was  composed  of  several  closely  united  towns  or  par- 
ishes, in  which  case  its  government  had  features  somewhat 
like  the  government  of  the  English  shire  or  county,  the 
borough  having  its  "  shire  reeve,"  or  sheriff,  appointed  by 
the  king.  The  free  burghers  united  in  guilds  or  companies 
of  weavers,  dyers,  armorers,  gold  beaters,  merchants,  etc.; 
and  each  guild,  as  a  rule,  occupied  a  different  part  of  the 
town.  Each  sent  its  own  head  man,  or  "  aeldorman  "  (alder- 
man), chosen  by  its  members  to  a  common  city  meeting 
or  council ;  though  in  some  cities  the  merchant  guild  seems 
to  have  been  the  governing  body.  When  the  people  of  a 
borough  had  purchased  or  otherwise  received  the  right  of 
self-government,  a  Mayor  chosen  by  the  people  took  the 
place  of  the  sheriff  formerly  appointed  by  the  king,  and  the 
borough  community  became  a  municipal  corporation,  quite 
like  our  modern  cities,  with  full  power  to  regulate  its  own  local 
affairs  and  to  make  by-laws  for  its  own  local  government.^ 

City  Government  in  the  Netherlands. — In  much  the 
same  way  as  in  England,  city  government  grew  up  in  the 
Netherlands,  from  which  came  the  Dutch,  who  first  settled 
New  York.  Dutch  towns  grew  into  walled  cities  having 
charters  purchased  from  their  counts  or  lords,  giving  the 
townspeople  the  right  to  levy  their  own  taxes,  elect  their 
own  magistrates,  and  make  their  own  laws.^     The  cities  of 

1  Hannis  Taylor,  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution. 

2  The  oldest  known  city  charter  is  dated  a.  d.  1217,  and  may  still  be  seen 
in  the  town  hall  in  Middleburg.  It  was  given  by  William  I.,  Count  of 
Holland,  and  Joanna,  Countess  of  Flanders,  and  declares  that  "To  all 
Middleburgers  one  kind  of  law  is  granted." 


46  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

New  Netherland,  as  New  York  was  called,  were  governed 
in  much  the  same  manner,  though  not  at  first  with  the  same 
popular  liberty,  as  the  cities  of  Holland.  In  New  Amster- 
dam (the  Dutch  name  given  to  the  present  city  of  New  York) 
there  were  elected  as  early  as  1652,  a  schout,  two  burgo- 
masters, and  five  schepens,  to  act  as  a  local  court,  and  to  per- 
form  some  of  the  functions  of  a  legislative  body.^  Later, 
the  English  substituted  a  mayor  and  a  Board  of  Aldermen 
for  the  Dutch  schout,  burgomasters  and  schepens. 

Three  Classes  of  Cities. — In  the  United  States  cities 
are  organized  under  charters  granted  by  the  State  legisla- 
tures, or  under  general  State  laws.^     Cities  of  New  York 

1  Similar  powers  were  given  in  a  charter  granted  in  1674  to  New  Orange 
(now  Albany).  The  word  "  schout,"  or  "  schoudt,"  is  said  to  be  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  the  Dutch  "schuld-rechter,"  or  righter  of  crimes.  The  schout,  both 
in  Holland  and  in  New  Netherland,  performed  duties  somewhat  analogous  to 
those  of  our  modern  sheriff  and  district  attorney.  See  Broadhead's  History 
of  the  State  of  New  York;  Holland  Docmnents^  Volume  I.,  page  621  ;  The 
Documentary  History  of  New  York,  Volume  I.,  Part  XXL,  "  Papers  Relating 
to  the  City  of  New  York,"  pages  598,  etc.  See  also  Elting's  Dutch  Village 
Communities  on  the  Hudson  River. 

2  The  development  of  the  city  is  a  subject  of  peculiar  interest  for  the  stu- 
dent of  civics.  The  first  cities  were  originally  unions  of  tribes  that  had  ceased 
wandering  and  had  settled  down  about  a  common  altar  and  a  common  citadel 
of  defense.  Such  a  city  was  the  first  form  of  the  state.  The  early  Greek  or 
Roman  city-state  had  a  king  who  was,  at  the  same  time,  the  high  priest. 
Later  we  find  other  officers,  besides  a  Senate  or  council  of  the  "  fathers  "  repre- 
senting the  confederated  tribes.  A  meeting  of  all  the  people  was  often  held 
to  approve  matters  previously  agreed  upon  by  the  chief  magistrate  and  senate. 
In  Italy,  Rome  gradually  conquered  the  other  city-states,  which,  upon  acknowl- 
edging Roman  supremacy,  generally  retained  to  a  considerable  extent  their 
own  local  independent  government  and  were  known  as  municipia. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  as  we  have  seen,  the  cities  became  centers  of 
trade  and  independent  political  action.  Guild  schools  were  established  in 
them  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  guild  members,  and  later 
developed  into  public  schools  supported  in  many  cases  largely  by  the  munici- 
pal authorities.  In  Italy  leading  cities,  like  Genoa,  Venice,  Florence,  and 
Milan,  acquired  complete  political  independence.      Venice  was  ruled  by  a 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  47 

are  now  divided  into  three  classes.  Cities  of  the  first  class 
have  a  population  of  175,000  and  over;  second  class,  a 
population  between  175,000  and  50,000;  while  cities  of  the 
third  class  include  all  others.  The  following  outline  of 
government  applies  generally  to  all  cities  of  the  State. 

City  Governnient — The  Board  of  Aldermen. — A  city 
is  usually  divided  for  convenience  in  administering  the  laws, 
into  local  subdivisions  called  Wards ;  and  each  ward  may 
send  its  own  representative,  alderman,  or  councilman,  to 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  or  Common  Council,  which  is  the 
city's  law  making  or  legislative  body.  Sometimes,  however, 
the  entire  board  of  aldermen  or  common  council  is  elected 
on  one  general  ballot,  by  the  voters  of  the  entire  city.  Some 
cities  elect  an  alderman  or  councilman  from  each  ward 
with  a  certain  number  of  aldermen-at-large,  the  latter  being 
voted  for  by  the  voters  of  tlie  entire  city.  Aldermen,  in 
common  with  all  elective  city  officers  (except  in  cities  of  the 
third  class)  are  elected  at  the  time  of  the  General  State 
Election  of  an  odd-numbered  year,^  and  they  hold  office  for 

doge  elected  at  first  by  the  common  people  and  afterwards  by  a  Great  Council, 
membership  in  which  became  hereditary.  In  all  these  cities  the  workmen 
organized  in  guilds  and  struggled  with  the  nobles  for  the  control  of  the  city. 
During  the  thirteenth  century,  some  ninety  towns  of  northwestern  Europe, 
largely  independent,  united  in  the  Hanseatic  League  ("  Hansa,"  meaning  trade 
guild)  for  the  purpose  of  checking  disorder  and  of  keeping  open  the  roads 
for  trade. 

At  the  present  day  the  problem  of  city  government  is  one  of  great  and 
growing  importance.  In  1790  the  ratio  of  urban  population  in  the  United 
States  to  the  total  population  was  3.4  per  cent.  In  1900  the  urban  population 
had  increased  to  31.1  per  cent. 

^  Laws  of  1909,  Chapter  55.  State  officials  are  elected  in  the  even-num- 
bered years.  The  purpose  of  the  law  requiring  different  dates  for  State  and 
city  elections  is  to  keep  State  and  city  politics  independent  of  each  other,  so 
that  a  citizen  may  vote  freely  and  intelHgently  in  a  city  election  without 
being  influenced  by  his  desire  to  support  a  particular  party  in  the  State. 


48  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

two  years.  The  powers  exercised  by  the  board  of  alder- 
men  or  common  council  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  of 
the  board  of  trustees  in  the  village,  and  to  the  town  meet- 
ing in  the  town.  The  board  of  aldermen  may  make  by- 
laws or  ordinances  for  the  general  local  government  of  the 
city,  including  its  streets,  sewers,  docks  and  public  build- 
ings. They  may  grant  local  franchises  or  licenses  for  the 
regulation  of  particular  trades  and  kinds  of  business.  They 
may  fix  the  tax  rate  for  local  purposes,  not  exceeding  the 
limits  fixed  by  State  law,  and  they  may  vote  money  from 
the  city  treasury  for  the  conduct  of  the  public  business. 

The  Mayor. — The  mayor  is  the  city's  chief  executive 
officer.  He  is  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  entire  city.  It  is 
his  duty  to  enforce  the  by-laws  or  ordinances  enacted  by  the 
board  of  aldermen,  and  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  city. 
He  has  control  of  the  city's  police  force,  and  he  may  call 
out  any  regiment  of  State  militia  located  in  the  city,  to  sup- 
press riots  or  other  disorders.  In  some  cities  the  mayor  is  a 
member  of  the  common  council  and  presides  at  its  meet- 
ings, and  in  all  cities  the  mayor  has  what  is  called  a  Veto 
over  acts  or  ordinances  passed  by  the  common  council. 
"  Veto  "  comes  from  the  Latin  and  means  "  to  forbid  " ;  and 
the  mayor  exercises  his  veto  by  forbidding  or  failing  to 
approve  of  a  measure  passed  by  the  common  council.  An 
act  of  the  council  "  vetoed  "  by  the  mayor  fails  to  become 
law,  unless  the  council  repasses  it  by  a  two-thirds  affirma- 
tive vote.  This  is  called  "  passing  a  bill  over  the  mayor's 
veto."  Such  acts  become  the  law  without  the  mayor's  con- 
sent. The  mayor  may  appoint  and  remove  many  officials 
and  heads  of  departments  in  the  city  government,  but  in 
exercising  this  power  he  is  subject  to  the  State  •'  Civil 
Service   laws,"   which   declare   that   all   appointments  and 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES.  49 

promotions  in  the  civil  service  (that  is,  in  the  public  service 
outside  the  army  and  navy),  "  shall  be  made  according 
to  merit  and  fitness,  to  be  ascertained  so  far  as  practicable, 
by  examinations,  which  so  far  as  practicable  shall  be  com- 
petitive." ^ 

Other  Executive  Officers  of  the  City. — Associated  with 
the  mayor  in  the  executive  work  of  the  city,  some  appointed 
and  some  elected  by  the  people,  are  such  officers  as  City 
Treasurer,  Assessors,  Tax  Collectors,  City  Auditors,  City 
Attorney  or  Corporation  Counsel,  Street  Commissioners, 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  Park  Commissioners,  Civil  Serv- 
ice Commissioners,  etc.,  each  with  his  special  part  of  the 
public  service  to  superintend  or  perform. 

City  Courts. — Each  city  in  the  State  has  its  own  local 
court  or  courts.  Some  of  the  city  courts  try  only  criminal 
cases,  some  try  civil  suits  at  law,  and  some  try  both  kinds 
of  cases.  Most  of  the  city  courts  have  jurisdiction  limited 
to  cases  of  small  importance,  and  are  inferior  to  the  county 
and  State  courts.  An  important  and  growing  reform  in 
our  largest  cities  is  the  establishment  of  juvenile  courts, 
where  children's  cases  can  be  tried  without  bringing  the 
youthful  offenders  into  contact  with  hardened  criminals. 
The  world  is  coming  to  look  upon  criminals  as  people  to  be 
reformed  rather  than  punished;  and  this  is  especially  pos- 
sible with  the  young.  Offenders  sentenced  by  city  courts 
are  usually  confined  in  prisons,  reformatories,  or  jails  con- 
ducted by  the  State  or  the  county ;  but  some  cities  have 
special  penal  institutions  of  their  own. 

Special  Laws  Affecting  Cities. — To  give  the  people 
of  a  city  an  opportunity  to  express  themselves  freely  for  or 
against  measures  proposed  by  the  State  lawmakers,  which 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  V.,  Section  9. 


so  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

apply  specially  to  their  city,  there  was  placed  in  the  last 
revision  (1894)  of  the  State  Constitution,  a  section^  which 
provides  that  the  legislature  may  not  enact  a  special  law 
applying  to  a  particular  city,  without  first  sending  a  copy 
of  the  proposed  law  to  the  city,  and  giving  the  people  a 
chance  to  be  heard  for  or  against  it.  In  cities  of  the  first 
class,  the  mayor — in  others  the  mayor  and  common  coun- 
cil— may  accept  or  reject  such  a  proposed  law,  and  return 
it  within  fifteen  days  to  the  legislature,  or  to  the  governor 
of  the  State  if  the  legislature  has  adjourned.  A  proposed 
law  thus  rejected  by  a  city,  or  not  returned  within  the  speci- 
fied fifteen  days,  may  be  passed  by  the  legislature,  if  in 
session,  and  signed  by  the  governor,  as  though  it  had  been 
accepted  by  the  city.  If,  however,  the  legislature  adjourn 
before  the  expiration  of  the  fifteen  days,  and  the  proposed 
law  is  returned  within  that  time  as  accepted  by  the  city, 
the  governor  may  act  upon  it  as  in  the  case  of  other  pro- 
posed laws  passed  by  the  legislature;  but  if  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  legislature  the  proposed  law  is  not  re- 
turned,  or  is  returned  as  rejected,  it  fails  to  become  a  law. 

Limitation  of  City  Indebtedness. — ^To  protect  the  prop- 
erty owners  from  a  wasteful  and  careless  expenditure  of  the 
public  money,  the  State  Constitution  declares  that  no  city, 
county,  town,  or  village,  may  incur  any  indebtedness  except 
for  strictly  public  or  municipal  purposes.  No  county  or 
city  may  go  into  debt  in  excess  of  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
assessed  valuation  of  the  houses  and  lands  which  pay  taxes 
within  its  borders  ;  and  the  amount  to  be  raised  by  tax  for 
county  or  city  purposes  in  any  county  containing  a  city  of 
over  100,000  inhabitants,  or  in  any  such  city,  cannot  in  any 
one  year  exceed  two  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  valuation  of 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  XII.,  Section  2. 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES.  51 

its  taxable  property,  aside  from  the  amount  to  be  raised 
for  paying  the  principal  and  interest  on  its  existing  debt. 
Whenever  the  boundaries  of  a  city  become  the  same  as 
those  of  a  county,  the  county  can  go  no  further  into  debt, 
but  the  existing  county  debt  is  not  included  as  a  part  of 
the  city  debt^ 

Government  in  Cities  of  the  Second  Class. — Govern- 
ment in  cities  of  the  second  class  is  carried  on  by  a  common 
council,  mayor,  and  the  following  departments :  Depart- 
ment of  Finance,  Department  of  Public  Works,  Department 
of  Contract  and  Supply,  Department  of  Public  Safety, 
Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Department  of  Assess- 
ment and  Taxation,  Department  of  Charities,  Judiciary 
Department,  and  Department  of  Law. 

The  common  council  has  authority  to  enact  any  ordi- 
nance not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  State  for  the 
government  of  the  city  and  the  management  of  its  business, 
for  the  preservation  of  good  order,  peace  and  health,  for  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  its  inhabitants  and  the  protection  and 
security  of  their  property.  The  mayor  must  call  the  heads 
of  the  different  departments  together  for  consultation  on 
the  affairs  of  the  city  at  least  twelve  times  a  year.  A 
police  justice  is  elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  six 
years.  Other  officers  elected  are  Comptroller,  Treasurer, 
President  of  the  Common  Council,  four  Assessors  from  the 
city  at  large,  and  one  alderman  and  one  supervisor  from 
each  ward.  The  mayor  appoints  a  Corporation  Counsel, 
City  Engineer,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works,  Commis- 
sioner of  Public  Safety,  Commissioner  of  Charities,  and  a 
Sealer  of  Weights  and  Measures.  The  mayor,  comptroller, 
corporation  counsel,  president  of  the  common  council  and 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VIII.,  Section  10. 


52  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW  YORK. 

the  city  engineer  constitute  a  board  of  estimate  and  ap- 
portionment, with  partial  control  over  the  city's  finances. 

Government  in  Other  Cities. — The  government  of  New 
York,  our  largest  city,  is  described  in  the  next  chapter. 
In  a  first-class  city  there  are  more  officers,  and  in  a  third 
class  city,  fewer,  than  in  cities  of  the  second  class.  There 
are  many  arguments  in  favor  of  a  radically  new  plan  of 
city  government,  called  the  commission  plan,  which  origi- 
nated in  Galveston,  Texas,  and  has  since  been  adopted  in 
more  than  sixty  other  cities.^  This  plan  abolishes  the  sepa- 
rate legislative  and  executive  branches  of  city  government, 
and  confers  all  such  powers  upon  an  elected  commission, 
usually  of  five  members,  who  act  as  heads  of  as  many 
executive  departments,  and  together  act  as  the  city  legisla- 
ture, with  full  powers  of  appointment,  removal  and  com- 
pensation of  all  minor  city  officers.  This  plan  concentrates 
power  in  so  few  hands  that  the  people  are  able  to  fix  the 
responsibility  for  good  or  bad  government.^ 

Special  Rights  and  Duties  of  Citizens. — The  resident 
of  a  city  has  more  civic  rights  and  duties  than  the  country- 
man. The  government  does  more  for  him,  and  imposes 
more  restrictions  on  him.  He  has  the  use  of  expensive 
parks  and  streets,  for  instance ;  but  he  is  forbidden  to 
drive  through  them  at  high  speed,  and  must  observe  various 
other  traffic  regulations.  He  has  no  right  to  make  a  speech 
on  the  street,  or  to  organize  a  parade,  without  a  permit  from 

1  Among  them  are  Gloucester  and  Haverhill,  Mass.  ;  Memphis,  Tenn. ; 
Des  Moines  and  Burlington,  Iowa  ;  Leavenworth  and  Topeka,  Kansas ; 
Colorado  Springs,  Colo.;   St.  Joseph,  Mo.;   and  several  cities  in  Texas. 

2  In  cities  governed  under  the  usual  plan,  the  responsibility  for  an  unwise 
measure  may  sometimes  be  shifted  about  from  one  official  or  board  to  another, 
so  that  the  voter  cannot  tell  whom  to  blame.  In  a  few  States,  some  city 
officials  can  be  removed  by  vote  of  the  people  (the  "  recall "). 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  CITIES.  53 

the  proper  officer.  Most  important  of  all  his  rights  and 
duties  are  those  of  a  voter,  taking  part  not  only  in  elections, 
but  also  in  the  primaries,  where  his  influence  is  often  most 
powerful  for  good. 

The  Street. — The  citizen's  interest  in  municipal  affairs 
may  well  begin  at  home — in  his  own  street.  The  street  is 
the  central  and  distinctive  element  of  city  Hfe,  the  scene  of 
a  large  part  of  the  city's  activities.  For  some  purposes 
each  street  is  a  unit  of  administration  and  taxation.  Origi- 
nally, the  land  occupied  by  a  street  may  have  been  dedicated 
to  the  city  by  deed  of  the  owners;  or  it  may  have  been 
acquired  in  whole  or  in  part  through  condemnation  pro- 
ceedings,^ the  cost  usually  being  charged  against  the 
property  benefited. 

The  first  cost  of  grading,  curbing  and  paving ^  the  street, 
and  building  sewers,  is  met  wholly  or  partly  by  assessments 
against  the  property  on  the  street.^  After  it  has  been  con- 
structed, the  city  cares  for,  cleans  and  maintains  it.  Side- 
walks are  built  or  paid  for  by  each  owner  individually,  and 
must  be  kept  clean  by  him.     When  it  is  necessary  to  tear 

1  The  common  council  orders  the  laying  out  of  the  street,  and  has  it  mapped. 
Commissioners  are  appointed  by  a  court  to  hear  evidence  offered,  a,ward  the 
damages  for  property  taken,  and  assess  the  cost  of  the  whole  proceeding 
against  the  owners  of  property  on  the  new  street.  The  fees  charged  by  such 
commissioners  for  their  services  are  sometimes  large. 

2  The  cost  of  paving  varies  with  the  location,  cost  of  labor,  etc.  Block 
stone  pavements  sometimes  cost  $2  or  ^3  per  square  yard ;  asphalt,  about 
the  same  ;  wood  block,  a  little  more  ;  and  brick,  a  little  less.  Macadam  or 
broken  stone  roads  cost  from  50  ^  to  75  ^  per  square  yard  ;  the  butolithic, 
first  introduced  in  1901,  and  combining  the  excellent  qualities  of  macadam  and 
asphalt,  $2  to  ^2.50.  The  proper  kind  of  pavement  for  a  given  street  depends 
on  the  kind  of  traffic  and  the  grade  of  the  street.  The  city  by  ordinance 
sometimes  forbids  heavy  traffic  on  certain  streets. 

8  The  entire  cost  of  bridges,  on  the  other  hand,  is  usually  paid  by  the  city. 


54  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

up  the  pavement  to  make  connections  with  water  mains 
or  sewers,  or  for  other  purposes,  permission  to  do  so  must 
be  secured  from  the  proper  city  officer,  and  the  pavement 
must  be  properly  replaced  without  cost  to  the  city.  In  a 
poorly  governed  city  it  may  happen  that  sewers  are  built, 
gas  mains  laid,  and  the  like,  shortly  after  a  street  is  paved, 
instead  of  before,  thus  causing  extra  expense  because  of 
the  necessity  of  replacing  the  pavement.  The  citizens  on 
any  street  should  be  especially  interested  in  seeing  that 
work  on  the  street  is  done  properly.  Much  good  can  often 
be  accomplished  by  personal  interviews  with  the  responsi- 
ble city  officials. 

Special  City  Problems. — The  good  citizen  must  make 
himself  famiUar  with  the  problems  of  city  government,  so 
that  he  may  exert  an  intelligent  influence  in  their  solution. 
These  problems  are  many. 

Sewers. — In  former  years,  sewers  were  almost  always 
built  to  empty  directly  into  the  nearest  stream  or  large 
body  of  water.  This  is  usually,  but  not  always,  the 
cheapest  method  of  sewage  disposal;  but  in  many  cases 
it  causes  serious  pollution  of  waters  and  shores,  and  great 
danger  of  spreading  infectious  diseases.  A  newer  and 
better  method  is  to  have  the  sewage  flow  first  into  under- 
ground tanks  (where  the  solids  in  it  quickly  become  liquid, 
through  the  action  of  bacteria);  and  then  intermittently 
through  beds  of  broken  stone,  gravel,  and  sand,  where  the 
oxygen  of  the  air  completes  the  work  of  purification,  so 
that  the  liquid  finally  flowing  away  is  entirely  harmless. 

Profit-paying  Public  Utilities. — The  problems  of  water 
and  light  supply  are  similar  to  those  of  a  village,  but  greater. 
The  privilege  of  putting  water  or  gas  mains  or  electric 
wires  or  car  tracks  in   the   streets   is  very  valuable,  and 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES,  55 

if  it  is  given  to  a  private  company,  the  interests  of  the  city 
and  of  private  consumers  should  be  carefully  guarded  in 
the  franchise  by  which  the  board  of  aldermen  grants  the 
privilege.^  Most  cities  in  this  country  have  publicly  owned 
waterworks,  some  have  municipal  lighting  plants,^  and  in  a 
few  it  is  proposed  that  the  city  shall  own  street  railways. 
Some  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  pubHc 
ownership  are  as  stated  on  pages  39-40,  but  the  difficulties 
of  public  management  increase  with  the  complexity  of  the 
service,  while  large  cities  lack  an  important  advantage  of 
a  village — the  personal  acquaintance  of  most  of  the  citi- 
zens with  their  public  officers,  which  often  serves  as  an 
incentive  to  efficiency.  Many  cities  in  Europe  own  such 
public  utilities  and  manage  them  with  success.  Whether 
they  are  publicly  or  privately  owned,  no  modern  city  can 
exist  without  them,  and  the  welfare  of  any  city  depends 
largely  on  their  proper  management 

There  are  very  many  details  calling  for  careful  consideration  and 
good  judgment.  As  cities  grow  larger,  for  instance,  it  is  necessary  to 
free  some  of  the  streets  from  overhead  wires  strung  on  poles,  and  they 
must  be  transferred  to  underground  pipes  or  conduits.  Also,  to  carry 
passengers  long  distances  quickly,  some  of  the  street  railways  in  very 
large  cities  must  be  built  in  subway  tunnels,  or  on  elevated  structures, 
where  they  will  not  interfere  with  traffic  on  the  street  level. 

Steam  railways  have  in  a  few  cases  been  given  the  right  to  lay  tracks 
in  city  streets ;  with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  of  the  railway  traffic, 
this  leads  to  many  accidents.     Accidents  occur  also  where  a  railway 

1  One  important  clause  in  some  franchises  limits  the  privilege  to  a  certain 
number  of  years  (as  25  or  50),  at  the  end  of  which  the  city  may  come  into 
ownership  of  the  mains,  wire,  or  track,  or  may  readjust  the  terms  of  the 
franchise.  Such  readjustment  is  very  important  because  of  rapidly  changing 
conditions. 

2  In  a  few  cases  these  supply  gas  or  electricity  for  street  lights  only;  but 
generally  they  sell  to  private  consumers  also. 


56  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW   YORK. 

crosses  streets  at  grade ;  therefore,  many  grade  crossings  are  being 
abolished,  by  raising  or  lowering  either  the  street  or  the  railway,  and  using 
a  bridge, — the  cost  being  divided  between  the  railway  and  the  public. 

Street  Cleaning. — Efficient  cleaning  of  the  city  streets 
is  now  known  to  be  essential  to  health  as  well  as  to  comfort. 
In  cities  where  the  winters  are  mild,  traffic  is  carried  on  by 
wheeled  vehicles  the  year  round,  and  after  each  snowstorm 
it  is  necessary  to  remove  the  snow  from  the  busiest  streets. 
Such  removal  of  snow  often  causes  a  large  increase  in  the 
expenditure  for  street  cleaning. 

Building  Laws. — Much  of  the  land  in  cities  is  held  at 
such  high  prices  that  it  pays  to  put  up  buildings  many 
stories  high.  If  constructed  improperly,  buildings  may 
fall,  or  may  be  especially  liable  to  fires,  or  may  have 
inadequate  water  and  sewer  connections,  and  so  little  light 
and  ventilation  as  to  be  unhealthful  dwelling  places.  To 
protect  citizens  from  unscrupulous  builders,  the  State 
legislature  and  the  city  councils  have  made  many  regula- 
tions concerning  the  erection  of  buildings.  In  parts  of 
the  city  only  fireproof  materials  are  allowed  to  be  used ; 
buildings  may  be  erected  only  after  the  plans  have  been 
submitted  to  the  city  authorities,  and  a  permit  given  ;  and 
often  the  work  is  watched  by  city  inspectors  as  it  pro- 
gresses from  day  to  day,  to  see  that  in  all  details  it  meets 
the  requirements  of  the  city  to  secure  safety  and  health. 
The  code  of  building  laws  in  some  cities  is  longer  and 
more  elaborate  than  a  State  constitution. 

In  a  city  with  wise  and  well-enforced  building  laws,  and  with  a  well- 
equipped  and  efficient  fire  department,  there  will  be  few  destructive  fires. 
As  a  result,  insurance  rates  there  will  be  lower  than  in  other  cities. 

The  tenement-house  problem  is  especially  serious  in  some  cities, 
where  many  tenements  have  been  built  without  sufficient  provision  for 


f 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES.  57 

light  and  air,  A  five-story  house  twenty-five  feet  wide  and  seventy-five 
feet  deep,  for  instance,  with  no  space  between  it  and  adjoining  houses, 
may  be  cut  up  into  ten  or  even  twenty  different  tenements,  each 
occupied  by  one  or  more  families.  Tuberculosis  and  other  diseases  are 
apt  to  flourish  in  crowded,  dirty  and  ill-ventilated  tenements.  Modern 
requirements  for  new  buildings  call  for  adequate  air  shafts,  or  vacant 
spaces  between  buildings,  so  that  each  room  may  have  an  outside  win- 
dow. It  has  been  necessary,  also,  to  forbid  the  carrying  on  of  some 
kinds  of  manufacturing  in  tenements. 

Parks,  Museums,  Hospitals,  etc. — For  the  welfare  of  its 
citizens  the  city  does  many  things  that  can  be  done  most 
satisfactorily  by  cooperative  effort.  Parks,  playgrounds, 
recreation  piers,  public  baths  and  washhouses  maintained 
by  the  city  are  important  aids  to  the  public  health  and 
happiness.  The  city  may  also  provide  free  concerts,  and 
free  lectures  either  in  connection  with  its  schools  or  other- 
wise.^ It  sometimes  contributes  to  the  support  of  museums 
and  hospitals  estabHshed  by  private  effort.  So  many  sick 
and  injured  are  unable  to  care  for  themselves  that  the  city 
may  also  build  and  support  hospitals  of  its  own.  A  city 
may  also  give  temporary  relief  to  the  poor,  and  may  main- 
tain, or  contribute  toward  supporting,  special  institutions 
for  the  care  of  the  poor.  Many  hopelessly  poor  are  sent 
to  the  county  almshouse,  the  expense  of  their  support  being 
paid  by  the  city. 

City  Finances. — The  cost  of  various  operations  of  city 
government  must  be  met  chiefly  by  taxation  of  the  citizens. 
In  cities  generally  the  largest  expenses  are  for  main- 
taining streets  and  schools,  and  the  police  and  fire 
departments.  For  example,  the  following  table  shows  one 
year's  ordinary  expenses  of  one  city  in  this  State,  with  a 

1  For  city  schools,  the  compulsory  school  law,  etc.,  see  Chapter  XVIII, 
"  The  Public  Schools." 


58  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

population  of  about  70,000,  with  the  proportions  of   the 
total  expenditure  devoted  to  each  purpose  : 

Per  cent  of  Total. 

Fire  Department $125,000  8.3  % 

Police  Department 165,000  10.9 

Health  Department 40,000  2.6 

Schools 455,000  30.1 

Parks  and  Recreation  Centers     .     .     .  13,000  .9 

Baths  (net  cost  of  maintenance)       .     .  2,500  .2 

Free  Concerts 500  .03 

Public  Library .     .  10,000  .7 

Care  of  Poor 15,000  i.o 

Care  of  Sick  and  Injured 14,000  .9 

City  Courts 17,000  i.i 

Street  Lighting 108,000  7.2 

Care  of  Streets,  and  Garbage  Disposal .  215,000  14  2 

Miscellaneous  Salaries  and  Expenses    .  137,000  9.1 

Interest  on  Bonds  and  Notes  ....  192,000  12.7 

$1,509,000 

The  revenue  of  the  city  is  derived  partly  (i)  from  fees 
charged  for  licenses  to  carry  on  certain  kinds  of  business 
in  the  city,  according  to  the  ordinances  of  the  city  council ; 
(2)  from  fees  charged  for  the  services  of  some  city  offi- 
cials; (3)  from  fines  levied  on  offenders  against  the  city 
ordinances ;  (4)  from  part  of  certain  special  taxes  levied 
by  the  State;  (5)  in  some  cases  from  the  profits  of  munic- 
ipal water  works,  lighting  plants,  etc.;  (6)  in  some  cases 
from  rentals  of  public  property  owned  by  the  city ;  ^  but 
(7)  chiefly  from  taxes  levied  on  the  real  estate  in  the  city, 
and  the  personal  property  owned  by  the  citizens,  in  the 
manner  described  in  Chapter  XIX. 

Most  of  this  direct  tax  on  property  falls  on  real  estate,  because  all 
land  and  buildings  are  easily  found  and  assessed  by  the  assessors, 

1  New  York  city,  for  instance,  derives  a  large  revenue  from  the  publicly 
owned  docks. 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES,  59 

while  valuable  personal  property  is  concealed  from  them.  A  person 
assessed  for  personal  property  may  "swear  off"  the  assessment  by 
making  oath  that  he  does  not  own  so  much,  or  may  avoid  the  tax  by 
establishing  his  legal  residence  elsewhere.  Assessors  dislike  to  make 
honest  men  pay  more  than  dishonest,  and  dislike  to  increase  unfairly 
the  proportion  of  the  county  and  State  tax  to  be  paid  by  their  own 
locality.  For  these  reasons  only  a  part  of  the  personal  property  owned 
by  citizens  in  this  State  is  taxed,  and  the  proportion  is  becoming  stead- 
ily smaller.  The  special  assessments  made  against  property  benefited 
by  the  opening  and  improving  of  city  streets  (p.  53)  of  course  fall 
entirely  on  real  estate. 

Because  of  the  various  activities  of  the  city  in  ways  that  cost  much 
money  per  capita,  the  city  tax  is  much  larger  than  the  proportion  of 
State  and  federal  taxation  paid  by  the  same  citizens.  The  annual  city 
tax  may  be  as  much  as  i  or  2  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  property. 

The  Budget. — The  common  council  fixes  the  tax  rate 
for  each  year.  In  first  and  second  class  cities  the  head  of 
each  department  requests  certain  appropriations  for  the 
ensuing  year;  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment 
considers  these  and  prepares  a  budget,  in  which  it  may 
recommend  greater  or  smaller  appropriations ;  and  the 
common  council  then  passes  upon  it,  lowering  such  items 
as  it  deems  too  large  (but  with  no  power  to  increase  any), 
and  fixing  the  tax  rate  necessary  to  yield  the  proposed  rev- 
enue, as  calculated  from  the  budget  and  from  reports  of 
the  preceding  year's  income  and  expenses. 


SUMMARY. 

A  city  is  a  municipal  corporation,  created  by  State  law, 
and  provided  with  a  special  form  of  government  fixed  by 
the  city  charter. 

The  city  charter  is  granted  by  the  State  legislature,  and 
may  be  amended  or  abolished  at  any  time  by  that  body. 


6o  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

Charters  were  granted  to  the  early  cities  in  England  and 
the  Netherlands  by  the  king  or  other  feudal  lord  of  the  city, 
usually  in  return  for  money  payments  made  by  the  city. 

The  board  of  aldermen  or  common  council  constitutes 
the  city's  legislative  department.  The  mayor  is  the  city's 
chief  executive  officer.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  mayor  to  en- 
force the  law  within  his  city,  and  he  has  a  veto  power  over 
ordinances  passed  by  the  city's  legislative  body.  The 
mayor's  power  of  appointment  is  limited  by  the  State  civil 
service  law.  Each  city  has  its  special  city  court  or  courts, 
with  powers  and  duties  fixed  by  the  city  charter. 

Special  State  laws  limit  the  power  of  a  city  to  go  into 
debt.  No  law  applying  specially  to  any  particular  city  may 
be  enacted  by  the  State  legislature,  unless  submitted  to  the 
common  council  or  mayor  of  the  city  for  acceptance  or 
rejection  by  the  city.  But  such  rejection  of  a  proposed  law 
may  not  necessarily  prevent  the  legislature  from  enacting  it. 

City  government  is  so  important,  and  has  so  many  diffi- 
cult problems  to  meet,  that  it  should  receive  the  careful 
study  and  help  of  all  citizens. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  is  a  city  charter }  What  power  may  grant,  amend, 
or  abolish  such  a  charter } 

What  classification  of  cities  exists  in  New  York  State  ? 

Describe  the  legislative  body  of  a  city  in  this  State  ? 
How  are  its  members  chosen  ? 

What  is  a  city  ordinance  ? 

Who  is  the  city's  chief  executive  officer  ?  What  power 
has  he  in  the  making  of  city  ordinances  ? 

What  State  law  limits  a  mayor's  power  to  appoint  officers 
in  the  city  government  ? 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  CITIES.  6i 

What  limit  is  there  to  the  power  of  a  city  to  go  into 
debt  ? 

How  are  the  people  of  a  city  given  opportunity  to  be 
heard  for  or  against  laws  proposed  in  the  State  legislature, 
which  apply  specially  to  their  city  ? 

What  natural  advantages  and  other  conditions  h'ave  led 
CO  the  growth  of  your  city  ? 

To  which  class  does  your  city  belong  ? 

Make  out  a  table  showing  the  chief  officials  of  your  city, 
and  their  duties.     (Get  a  copy  of  the  city  charter.) 

Which  official  in  your  city  is  responsible  for  the  care  of 
the  streets  1  the  bridges }  the  sewers  "i  street  lights  t  street 
cleaning  ?  the  water  supply  }  How  does  their  work  com- 
pare with  that  of  similar  officials  in  other  cities  in  this  and 
other  States.**  How  does  each  get  his  position.?  How 
may  he  be  made  to  do  his  work  properly } 

Make  out  a  table  for  your  city  like  that  on  page  58. 
(Get  a  copy  of  the  city  comptroller's  report.) 

Discuss  the  advantages  of  public  or  private  ownership 
()f  waterworks,  lighting  plants,  street  railways.  How  are 
these  utilities  managed  in  your  city  t  How  are  franchises 
for  private  companies  obtained } 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

For  an  account  of  the  development  of  the  English  borough,  see 
Hannis  Taylor's  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution,  Book 
III.;  also  Stubbs's  Constitutional  History  of  England,  Volume  I.,  Sec- 
tions 20  to  45.  Read  also  "The  English  Towns,"  Section  IV.  of 
Chapter  IV.,  Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People.  For  a  gen- 
eral account  of  American  city  governments,  see  Bryce's  American 
Com?nonwealth,  Volume  I.,  Chapters  L.  and  LI.  For  a  discussion  of 
important  municipal  problems,  see  Bemis's  Municipal  Monopolies; 
Judson's  City  Roads  and  Pavemeftts ;  Hazen's  Clean  Water  and  How 
to  Get  it ;  Rowe's  Problems  of  City  Governtnent. 


62 


City  of  ^iiw  york 

BOROUGHS  AND 

DISTRICTS  FOR  HOME  RULE  AND 
LOCAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


0  1         2 


4  5 


^ 


^ 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Greater  New  York. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  River,  facing  the  ghttering 
waters  of  New  York  Bay,  through  whose  narrow  strait  the 
ships  of  all  nations  carry  on  a  mighty  commerce  between 
the  old  world  and  the  new,  stands  the  city  known  as  Greater 
New  York.  Four  counties  of  the  State — New  York,  Kings, 
Queens,  and  Richmond — are  included  within  its  borders ;  and 
it  unites  under  a  single  city  government  the  former  cities  of 
New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Long  Island  City,  and  the  teeming 
villages  on  Staten  Island,  and  in  Kings  and  Queens  coun- 
ties, outside  the  former  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  City.^ 
The  population  of  Greater  New  York  is  now  more  than 
four  millions,  making  it  the  second  city  in  size  on  the 
globe,  and  by  far  the  largest  city  on  the  American  conti- 
nent. It  contains  considerably  more  people  than  the  com- 
bined States  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Connecti- 
cut, Rhode  Island  and  Delaware,  with  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  Wyoming  thrown  in  for  good  measure. 

This  mighty  city — New  York — was  created  by  the  State 
legislature  of  1897,  its  people  having  previously  expressed 
themselves  by  ballot  taken  at  a  regular  election,  as  in  favor 
of  uniting  their  separate  governments  in  a  single  munici- 
pality. The  legislature  then  enacted  a  charter  for  the 
great  city,  which  is  now  entitled  under  the  law  to  sixty-three 

1  Three  towns  of  the  former  Queens  County  have  been  erected  by  the 
legislature  into  the  County  of  Nassau. 
64 


GREATER  NEW   YORK.  65 

of  the  one  hundred  fifty  assemblymen  of  the  State,  and  to 
twenty-one  of  the  fifty-one  State  senators.  This  teeming 
population,  equal  in  number  to  about  half  the  population  of 
the  State,  and  to  more  than  the  entire  population  of  the 
United  States  when  Washington  was  made  President,  and 
holding  more  than  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  taxable  property 
in  the  whole  State,^  is,  however,  under  the  law  of  the  State, 
as  powerless  to  govern  itself  as  the  smallest  town  or  incor- 
porated village.  Its  vast  public  activities  are  confined 
rigidly  within  its  charter  fixed  by  the  State,  and  it  cannot 
lay  out  a  new  park,  widen  an  old  street,  establish  a  munici- 
pal ferry  or  subway,  or  spend  a  dollar  for  public  purposes, 
except  as  the  State  legislature  gives  it  power  to  do  these 
things  through  specific  provisions  of  the  city  charter. 

The  Government  of  New^  York. — New  York,  like  the 
other  municipal  corporations  of  the  State,  has  its  own  local 
legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  departments  of  govern- 
ment, with  powers  and  duties  fixed  by  the  city  charter. 
For  the  purpose  of  administering  its  local  government,  the 
city  is  divided  into  five  Boroughs.  These  are  the  Boroughs 
of  Manhattan  and  The  Bronx,  embracing  the  former  city 
of  New  York,  and  the  present  New  York  county  ;2  the  Bor- 
ough of  Brooklyn,  including  Kings  county  and  the  former 
city  of  Brooklyn;  the  Borough  of  Queens,  including  the 

^  The  equalized  value  of  real  estate  and  taxable  personal  property  in  1909 
for  the  whole  State  was  ^9,666, 118,681.  Of  this  amount  the  four  counties  of 
New  York  city  had  ^6,977,772,530. 

2  The  Borough  of  Manhattan  includes  Manhattan  Island,  Governors  Island, 
Bedloes  Island,  Ellis  Island,  the  Oyster  Islands,  Blackwells  Island,  Ran- 
dalls Island,  and  Wards  Island.  The  Borough  of  the  Bronx  includes  that 
portion  of  the  city  of  New  York  lying  northerly  or  easterly  of  the  Borough  of 
Manhattan  between  the  Hudson  River  and  the  East  River  or  Long  Island 
Sound,  including  a  large  area  of  mainland  and  several  islands. 


68  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

present  Queens  county;  and  the  Borough  of  Richmond 
having  the  boundaries  of  the  present  Richmond  county. 

The  Board  of  Aldermen. — New  York's  chief  local  legis 
lative  body  is  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  Formerly  this' 
board,  under  authority  given  to  it  by  the  State  legislature, 
made  all  important  local  regulations  or  by-laws  for  the 
government  of  the  city.  It  now  shares  this  law-making 
power  to  a  considerable  extent  with  other  local  boards 
Thus  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  grantF 
franchises  for  the  use  of  the  streets  and  other  pubUc  prop- 
erty, while  the  Park  Commissioners,  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, and  the  Health  Board  make  certain  by-laws  pertaining 
to  the  work  of  their  respective  departments.  The  Board 
of  Aldermen  is  composed  of  seventy-three  aldermen,  elected 
from  as  many  aldermanic  districts ;  a  president  elected  by 
the  voters  of  the  entire  city  at  the  time  of  the  election  of 
the  mayor  and  for  the  same  term  of  office ;  and  five  bor- 
ough presidents.  Each  assembly  district  in  the  city  has 
usually  constituted  an  aldermanic  district ;  but  a  few  have 
been  divided  into  two  or  three  aldermanic  districts  each. 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  elect  forty-one  aldermen  ;  Brook> 
lyn,  twenty-four ;  Queens,  five ;  and  Richmond,  three. 

The  aldermen  are  elected  by  the  voters  of  their  respec- 
tive aldermanic  districts  at  the  general  elections  in  the  odd- 
numbered  years.  They  hold  office  two  years,  and  receive 
an  annual  salary  of  $2,000  each.  The  aldermen  appoint  a 
clerk  of  the  board,  who  is  also  the  city  clerk.  He  serves 
six  years  at  an  annual  salary  of  ;^7,0CX).  The  president  of 
the  board  of  aldermen  is  the  acting  mayor  of  New  York 
during  the  absence  or  disability  of  the  mayor.  *He  receives 
an  annual  salary  of  $^,000.  A  majority  of  the  board 
constitutes  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  of  doing  business. 


GREATER  NEW   YORK.  69 

Powers  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen. — The  board  of  alder- 
men sits  in  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  and  it  must  hold  at 
least  one  meeting  a  month,  except  during  the  months  of 
August  and  September.  The  board  has  power  to  pass 
local  by-laws  or  ordinances  for  the  city  upon  subjects  enu- 
merated  in  the  charter.  Ordinances  are  passed  by  a  majority 
of  all  the  voting  members  of  the  board ;  but  no  ordinance 
involving  the  spending  of  the  public  money,  or  the  mak- 
ing of  a  specific  pubHc  improvement  may  be  passed  ex- 
cept by  unanimous  vote  of  the  board,  until  at  least  five 
days  after  an  abstract  of  its  provisions  has  appeared  in 
the  official  paper  known  as  the  "  City  Record."  This 
prevents  undue  haste  and  gives  the  people  an  opportu- 
nity to  be  heard.  The  board  has  power  to  make  and  enforce 
local  police,  health,  park,  fire,  and  building  regulations,  not 
inconsistent  with  the  charter,  nor  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
the  State  and  of  the  United  States.  The  board  may  make 
by-laws,  among  other  things  for : 

The  establishment  and  regulation  of  public  markets,  parks,  streets, 
boulevards,  bridges,  docks,  waterworks,  schoolhouses,  and  other  pub- 
lic buildings  of  the  city  ;  for  the  inspection  and  sealing  of  weights 
and  measures  ;  the  inspection,  weighing  and  measuring  of  coal, 
wood,  hay,  etc.  ;  for  the  numbering  of  houses  and  lots ;  for  regu- 
lating public  cries,  advertising  noises,  steam  whistles,  etc.  ;  regulating 
the  use  of  guns,  pistols,  fireworks,  etc. ;  regulating  places  of  public 
amusement,  the  construction  and  use  of  hydrants,  cisterns,  sewers, 
pumps,  etc.  ;  regulating  partition  walls  and  fences ;  for  licensing 
truckmen,  hackmen,  expressmen,  pawnbrokers,  and  others;  for  the 
suppression  of  vice  and  immorality,  and  the  prohibition  of  gambling 
houses.  The  board  may  also  restrict  the  height  of  buildings ;  change 
ward  boundaries;  and  it  may  on  recommendation  of  the  board  of 
estimate  and  apportionment,  fix  generally  the  salary  or  compensa- 
tion of  any  officer  or  person  paid  out  of  the  city  treasury,  except 
day  laborers,  teachers,  examiners  and  members  of  the  supervising 


7°  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

staff  of  the  department  of  education.  It  may  reduce  salaries  recom- 
mended by  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment,  subject,  how- 
ever, to  the  veto  power  of  the  mayor.  The  board  may,  within  the 
Hmits  fixed  by  State  law,  authorize  the  city  to  issue  its  bonds  for 
needed  public  improvements. 

The  Mayor. — The  mayor  is  the  executive  head  of  the 
city.  He  is  chosen  at  the  general  elections  in  the  odd- 
numbered  years,  for  a  term  of  four  years,  by  the  voters  of 
the  entire  city.  He  receives  an  annual  salary  of  ^15,000. 
The  mayor  must  be  vigilant  and  active  in  enforcing  the  city 
ordinances  and  the  laws  of  the  State.  He  must  keep  him- 
self informed  of  the  doings  of  the  different  departments  of 
the  city  government,  and  once  a  year  he  must  communicate 
in  a  written  message  to  the  board  of  aldermen  a  general 
statement  of  the  finances,  government  and  improvements 
of  the  city,  recommending  such  measures  as  he  deems  ex- 
pedient. The  mayor  appoints  in  most  instances  the  heads 
of  the  different  departments  in  the  city  government,  and  he 
has  power  to  remove  generally  any  city  official  holding 
office  by  appointment  of  the  mayor.^  The  mayor  himself 
may  be  removed  from  office  by  the  governor  of  the  State. 

Veto  Power  of  the  Mayor. — All  by-laws  or  ordinances 
passed  by  the  board  of  aldermen  must  be  sent  to  the  mayor 
for  his  approval  or  rejection.  If  the  mayor  approve  a  pro- 
posed ordinance,  he  must  sign  it  and  return  it  within  ten 
days  after  receiving  it  to  the  board  of  aldermen  or  to  the 
board    at  its  next  meeting.^      If  the  mayor  disapprove  a 

iThe  exceptions  are  members  of  the  board  of  education,  the  aqueduct 
commissioners,  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  the 
trustees  of  certain  hospitals,  and  judicial  officers  whose  removal  is  provided  for 
by  the  constitution. 

2  A  proposed  ordinance  involving  the  appropriation  of  public  money,  the 
granting  of  a  franchise,  or  the  making  of  a  specific  improvement,  must  be 


GREATER   NEW   YORIC.  71 

proposed  ordinance  he  must  return  it  within  the  time  speci- 
fied with  his  written  objections.  This  is  the  mayor's  veto. 
The  board  of  aldermen,  after  ten  days  and  within  fifteen 
days  after  receiving  the  veto,  may  repass  the  proposed  ordi- 
nance over  the  mayor's  veto  by  an  affirmative  vote  of  at 
least  two  thirds  of  the  members ;  except  that  a  proposed 
ordinance  involving  the  expenditure  of  public  money,  the 
creation  of  a  debt,  or  the  laying  of  an  assessment  may  be 
passed  over  the  mayor's  veto  only  by  an  affirmative  vote  of 
three  fourths  of  the  members.  The  mayor  also  has  a 
final  veto  on  resolutions  granting  a  franchise  (p.  72). 

City  Administrative  Departments. — Associated  with  the 
mayor  in  the  executive  government  of  the  city,  are  fifteen 
departments,  with  heads  in  nearly  every  instance  appointed 
by  him.*  These  are  the  department  of  finance,  law 
department,  police  department,  department  of  water  supply, 
gas  and  electricity,  department  of  street  cleaning,  department 
of  bridges,  department  of  parks,  department  of  pubHc 
charities,  department  of  correction,  fire  department,  depart- 
ment of  docks  and  ferries,  department  of  taxes  and  assess- 
ments, department  of  education,  health  department,  and 
tenement  house  department.  Each  of  these  departments  is 
headed  by  one  or  more  men,  usually  called  commissioners. 

The  Department  of  Finance. — ^Very  important  among 
the  administrative  departments  is  the  department  of  finance, 
headed  by  the  comptroller,  who  is  elected  at  the  time  of  the 
election  of  the  mayor,  by  the  voters  of  the  entire  city.     The 

returned  within  the  time  specified  after  an  abstract  of  its  provisions  has  been 
published  in  the  "  City  Record." 

1  The  exceptions  are  the  head  of  the  department  of  finance,  and  the  head 
of  the  department  of  education,  who  are  elected — the  former  by  the  people, 
the  latter  by  the  members  of  the  board  of  education. 


72  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

comptroller  serves  four  years  at  an  annual  salary  of  ;^  15,000. 
He  has  general  charge  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  city, 
and  revises  the  accounts  of  its  various  departments.  The 
department  of  finance  includes  bureaus  for  investigation 
and  the  preparation  of  statistics  ;  for  the  collection  of  inter- 
ests, rents  and  moneys  due  from  sales  ;  for  the  collection  of 
taxes  ;  for  the  collection  of  arrears  ;  for  the  auditing  of  city 
accounts ;  and  for  the  reception  of  all  moneys  into  the  city 
treasury,  and  the  paying  out  of  the  same.  The  last-named 
bureau  is  in  charge  of  the  city  treasurer  or  chamberlain, 
appointed  by  the  mayor  at  an  annual  salary  of  ;^i 2,000.^ 

The  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment. — The  mayor, 
comptroller,  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  and  the  five 
borough  presidents,  constitute  a  board  of  estimate  and 
apportionment.  It  is  the  duty  of  this  board  once  a  year  to 
make  up  a  budget  or  statement  of  the  estimated  expenses  of  the 
city,  which  is  afterward  passed  upon  by  the  aldermen. 
The  board  may  by  a  three-fourths  vote  (subject  to  the 
mayor's  veto)  give  private  persons  or  corporations  a  fran- 
chise or  right  to  use  the  streets,  wharves,  parks,  or  other 
public  property  of  the  city.  In  this  board  the  mayor, 
comptroller,  and  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen  have 
three  votes  each,  the  president  of  the  Borough  of  Man- 
hattan and  the  president  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn  two 
votes  each,  and  the  presidents  of  the  Boroughs  of  The 
Bronx,  Queens,  and  Richmond,  one  vote  each. 

The  Law  Department. — The  head  of  the  city's  law 
department  is  the  corporation  counsel,  appointed  by  the 
mayor,  at  an  annual  salary  of  ;^i 5,000.  He  has  charge  of 
the  official  law  business  of  the  city  and  its  various  depart- 
ments, and  he  is  the  legal  adviser  of  the  city  government. 

*  The  city  chamberlain  also  acts  as  treasurer  of  New  York  county. 


GREATER  NEW  YORK.  73 

The  Police  Department. — The  head  of  the  poHce  depart- 
ment is  the  police  commissioner,  appointed  by  the  mayor 
for  a'term  of  five  years  at  an  annual  salary  of  $7,500.  The 
police  commissioner  is  chief  of  police.  He  appoints  four 
deputies,  a  chief  inspector,  sixteen  inspectors,  and  an  army 
of  policemen. 

Borough  Officers. — The  voters  of  each  borough  of  New 
York  elect  a  borough  president.  He  is  elected  for  a  term 
of  four  years,  but  may  be  removed  by  the  governor.  He 
receives  an  annual  salary  of  1^7,500  in  the  Boroughs  of  Man- 
hattan, Brooklyn,  and  The  Bronx,  and  ;^5,ooo  in  Queens  and 
Richmond.  Each  borough  president  has  general  charge 
and  oversight  of  the  public  streets,  sewers,  bridges,  tunnels, 
and  buildings  ^  within  his  borough.  He  looks  after  the  con- 
struction of  new  streets,  regulates  the  construction  and  lay- 
ing of  surface  railroads,  looks  after  the  filling  in  and  fencing 
of  vacant  lots,  and  the  removal  of  encumbrances.  He  may 
appoint,  and  at  pleasure  remove  a  commissioner  of  public 
works  and  a  superintendent  of  buildings  for  his  borough. 
In  Queens  and  Richmond  the  borough  presidents  also  have 
charge  of  street  cleaning. 

Boards  of  Local  Improvements. — For  purposes  of  home 
rule  and  local  improvements,  the  city  is  divided  into  twenty- 
five  districts  of  local  improvements  corresponding  quite  gen- 
crally  in  size  and  extent  to  the  senate  districts.^     In  each 

1  Except  schoolhouses,  almshouses,  penitentiaries,  fire  and  police  stations. 

*The  districts  of  local  improvements  are  as  follows:  i,  Borough  of  Rich- 
mond; 2,  western  and  southern  parts  of  Borough  of  Queens;  3,  eastern  part 
of  Borough  of  Queens  ;  4,  third  senate  district ;  5,  fourth  senate  district; 
6,  fifth  senate  district  ;  7,  sixth  senate  district ;  8,  seventh  senate  district; 
9,  eighth  senate  district;  10,  ninth  senate  district;  11,  tenth  senate  district; 
12,  eleventh  senate  district;  13,  twelfth  senate  district;  14,  thirteenth  senate 
district ;   15,  fourteenth  senate  district ;   16,  fifteenth  senate  district ;   17,  six- 


74  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

district  of  local  improvements  there  is  a  board  of  local 
improvements,  known  as  the  "  local  board."  Each  local  board 
is  composed  of  members  of  the  board  of  aldermen  Within 
the  district,  and  each  is  presided  over  by  the  borough  presi- 
dent of  the  borough  in  which  the  board  is  located.  A  local 
board  has  power  to  open  streets,  establish  parks,  and  con- 
struct tunnels  and  bridges  where  the  adjoining  property 
bears  a  part  of  the  expense ;  but  plans  for  such  improve- 
ments must  be  first  approved  by  the  borough  president,  and 
by  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment,^  and,  in  a  case 
where  the  charge  imposed  upon  the  whole  city  is  more  than 
;^ 500,000,  by  the    board  of  aldermen  also. 

Other  Departments. — The  department  of  water  supply, 
gas  and  electricity,  the  department  of  street  cleaning,  and 
the  department  of  bridges  are  headed  respectively  by  the 
commissioner  of  water  supply,  gas  and  electricity,  the  com- 
missioner  of  street  cleaning,  and  the  commissioner  of  bridges, 
each  appointed  by  the  mayor,  and  each  receiving  an  annual 
salary  of  ;^7,500.  Each  commissioner  administers  his  depart- 
ment under  regulations  imposed  by  the  board  of  aldermen. 
The  department  of  parks  is  headed  by  the  park  board,  com- 
posed of  three  commissioners  of  parks,  appointed  by  the 
mayor  at  an  annual  salary  of  ;^5,ooo  each.  Other  heads  of 
departments  appointed  by  the  mayor  are  the  commissioner 
of  pubHc  charities,  salary,  ;^7,500;  the  commissioner  of  cor- 

teenth  senate  district;  18,  seventeenth  senate  district;  19,  eighteenth  senate 
district;  20,  nineteenth  senate  district;  21,  twentieth  and  part  of  the  twenty- 
first  senate  district;  22,  part  of  twenty-first  senate  district,  between  the  Harlem 
and  Bronx  rivers;  23,  territory  east  of  the  Bronx;  24,  southeastern  part  of 
the  twenty-second  senate  district;  25,  remainder  of  twenty-second  senate 
district. 

1  Proposed  improvements  costing  less  than  ^2,000  need  not  be  submitted  to 
the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment. 


GREATER  NEW   YORK.  75 

rection,  salary,  ;^7,5CX);  the  fire  commissioner,  salary,  1^7,500; 
the  commissioner  of  docks,  salary,  ;^7,5oo;  seven  commis- 
sioners of  taxes  and  assessments,  salary,  ^7,000  (the  presi- 
dent receiving  ;^8,ooo);  a  tenement  house  commissioner, 
salary,  ;^7,500. 

Department  of  Education. — The  mayor  appoints  the 
Board  of  Education,  consisting  of  forty-six  members — 
twenty-two  from  Manhattan,  fourteen  from  Brooklyn,  four 
from  The  Bronx,  four  from  Queens,  and  two  from  Richmond. 
The  members  are  appointed  for  terms  of  five  years  each, 
and  they  serve  without  pay.  The  board  has  the  manage- 
ment and  control  of  the  public  schools  of  the  city  ;  appoints 
a  city  superintendent  of  schools,  eight  associate  superintend- 
ents, and  twenty-six  district  superintendents.  The  board 
has  power  to  divide  the  city  into  forty-six  local  school 
board  districts,  corresponding  to  the  forty-six  members; 
and  each  borough  president  appoints  five  members  of  a 
local  school  board  for  each  district  within  his  borough. 
These,  with  the  member  of  the  board  of  education  living  in 
the  district,  and  the  district  superintendent,  constitute  a 
local  school  board  for  the  district. 

Department  of  Health. — The  commissioner  of  health, 
appointed  by  the  mayor,  at  a  salary  of  ^7,500,  the  police 
commissioner,  and  the  health  officer  of  the  port  constitute  the 
board  of  health.  This  department  has  authority  to  enforce 
the  laws  for  the  preservation  of  life  and  health  throughout 
the  city,  and  over  the  waters  within  its  jurisdiction. 

County  Government  in  the  City  of  New  York. — Each 
county  included  within  the  borders  of  New  York  has  its 
separate  county  government,  independent  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  city,  and  in  many  respects  the  same  as  county 
government  in  other  parts  of  the  State.     There  are,  how- 


76  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

ever,  no  town  governments  in  Greater  New  York,  and  con- 
sequently  no  such  officers  as  town  supervisors  or  county 
boards  of  supervisors.  Each  county  has,  however,  its 
sheriff,  county  clerk,  district  attorney,  and  other  county 
officers,  and,  except  in  New  York  county,  its  county  court. 

Courts  in  New  York — The  Supreme  Court. — ^The  first 
judicial  department  and  the  first  judicial  district  of  the  State 
have  the  same  boundaries  as  New  York  county ;  while  the 
Boroughs  of  Brooklyn,  Queens,  and  Richmond  are  included 
in  the  second  judicial  department  and  the  second  judicial 
district.  In  all  boroughs  of  the  city  the  Supreme  Court  and 
its  appellate  division  have  jurisdiction,  as  in  other  parts  of 
the  State ;  and  special  laws  largely  increase  the  compensa- 
tion of  supreme  court  judges. 

County  Courts  in  New  York. — Kings,  Queens,  and  Rich- 
mond counties  have  each  a  county  court  and  a  surrogate's 
court,  with  powers  and  duties  quite  similar  to  such  courts 
in  other  parts  of  the  State.  Kings  county  elects  two  county 
judges.  New  York  county  has  no  county  court,  but  elects 
two  surrogates  for  terms  of  fourteen  years  each,  at  annual 
salaries  of  ;^ 1 5,000  each. 

The  City  Court. — ^Two  courts  in  New  York  county  take 
the  place  of  a  regular  county  court.  These  are  the  City 
Court,  and  the  Court  of  General  Sessions ;  and  both  have 
jurisdiction  in  New  York  county  only.  Ten  judges  of  the 
city  court  are  elected  for  terms  of  ten  years  each  at  annual 
salaries  of  $12,000  each.  The  city  court  hears  and  deter- 
mines civil  suits  in  which  the  amount  sued  for  does  not 
exceed  ;^2,ooo.  Appeals  from  its  decisions  are  to  the  ap- 
pellate division  of  the  supreme  court. 

The  Court  of  General  Sessions — The  court  of  general 
sessions  is  mainly  a  criminal  court.     It  has  jurisdiction  to 


GREATER  NEW    YORK.  77 

try  all  crimes  cognizable  within  the  county,  including  those 
punishable  with  death.  It  is  in  five  parts,  its  judges  being 
seven  in  number,  all  elected  by  the  voters  for  terms  of 
fourteen  years  each,  at  annual  salaries  of  ^15,000  each. 
A  grand  jury  is  drawn  for  this  court.  All  the  foregoing 
are  courts  of  record. 

Inferior  Courts  in  New  York. — Two  inferior  courts 
not  of  record  have  jurisdiction  throughout  the  entire  city. 
These  are  the  Court  of  Special  Sessions,  and  the  Munici- 
pal Court  of  the  City  of  New  York.  In  both  these  courts 
cases  are  tried  by  the  judges  without  the  aid  of  a  jury. 

Court  of  Special  Sessions. — The  Court  of  Special  Ses- 
sions consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  fourteen  associate  jus- 
tices appointed  by  the  mayor — seven  from  the  boroughs 
of  Manhattan  and  The  Bronx,  five  from  Brooklyn,  and  one 
each  from  Queens  and  Richmond.  The  court  sits  in 
parts,  as  assigned  by  the  chief  justice,  for  the  purpose 
of  trying  cases  of  misdemeanors  committed  in  the  city  and 
not  brought  up  on  indictment  or  presentment  of  a  grand 
jury,  and  some  other  offenses.  Three  justices  sitting  to- 
gether constitute  each  part,  and  the  concurrence  of  two 
is  necessary  to  a  decision ;  except  that  a  single  justice 
ordinarily  presides  over  one  part  in  each  county  in  the 
city,  set  aside  as  a  children's  court.  The  justices  of  the 
Court  of  Special  Sessions  hold  office  for  terms  of  ten  years 
each. 

City  Magistrates — The  city  magistrates'  courts  are 
divided  into  two  divisions,  the  first  in  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx,  and  the  second  in  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  Rich- 
mond. For  each  division  the  mayor  appoints  a  chief  city 
magistrate  and  sixteen  city  magistrates  for  terms  of  ten 
years.     In  the  second  division   ten  must  be  residents  of 


78  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

Brooklyn,  four  of  Queens,  and  two  of  Richmond.  The 
chief  magistrate  of  each  division  determines  the  number 
of  magistrates'  courts  to  be  held,  the  hours,  etc. ;  other 
regulations  are  made  at  meetings  of  the  magistrates.  The 
magistrates  hold  court  singly  for  the  hearing  and  trial  of 
petty  offenses,  and  the  commitment  of  accused  persons. 
Special  courts  are  established  for  night  duty,  and  for  the 
trial  of  certain  cases  arising  under  the  laws  governing 
domestic  relations  (man  and  wife,  or  parent  and  child, 
etc.). 

The  Municipal  Court — The  lowest  court  of  civil  juris- 
diction in  Greater  New  York  is  the  Municipal  Court  of  the 
City  of  New  York.  For  the  purpose  of  administering  jus- 
tice through  this  court  the  city  is  divided  into  twenty-four 
districts  as  follows :  borough  of  The  Bronx  two  districts, 
Manhattan  nine,  Brooklyn  seven,  Queens  four,  Richmond 
two.  In  each  district  the  municipal  court  sits  in  one  or 
more  parts,  each  presided  over  by  a  justice.  The  justices 
are  elected  by  districts,  for  a  term  of  ten  years.  The 
municipal  court  has  general  jurisdiction  in  civil  suits  where 
the  amount  sued  for  does  not  exceed  ;^50o. 

SUMMARY. 

The  city  of  New  York  includes  within  its  borders  the 
counties  of  New  York,  Kings,  Queens,  and  Richmond,  and 
the  former  cities  of  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Long  Island 
City. 

For  administrative  purposes  the  city  is  divided  into  five 
boroughs :  Manhattan,  The  Bronx,  Brooklyn,  Queens,  and 
Richmond. 

The  board  of  aldermen  composed  of  seventy-three  mem- 
bers elected  from  as  many  districts,  a  president  elected  by 


GREATER  NEW   YORK. 


79 


the  voters  of  the  entire  city,  and  the  five  borough  presidents, 
constitute  the  chief  branch  of  the  city's  legislative  department. 

The  mayor  is  the  head  of  the  city's  executive  depart- 
ment, and  has  a  veto  power  over  ordinances  enacted  by 
the  board  of  aldermen. 

The  local  courts  of  the  city  include  a  city  court  and  a 
court  of  general  sessions,  for  New  York  county,  and  a 
court  of  special  sessions  and  a  municipal  court  for  the 
whole  city. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

Name  and  describe  the  boroughs  of  New  York. 

Describe  the  board  of  aldermen  and  its  powers. 

Describe  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment. 

What  officer  is  at  the  head  of  the  city's  finance  depart- 
ment ?  May  he  be  removed  from  office  ?  If  so,  in  what 
manner  ?     What  are  the  duties  of  the  city  chamberlain  ? 

Name  six  administrative  departments  included  in  the  city 
government.  Describe  the  boards  of  local  improvements, 
their  powers  and  duties. 

Name  two  duties  of  a  borough  president.  How  is  he 
placed  in  office  ? 

What  are  the  duties  of  the  corporation  counsel  ?  How 
do  his  duties  dififer  from  the  duties  of  the  district  attorney 
of  New  York  county  ? 

What  judicial  department  is  coextensive  with  the  bound- 
aries of  the  former  New  York?  What  State  courts  are 
maintained  in  this  department?  What  courts  take  the 
place  of  a  county  court  in  New  York  county  ?  Which  of 
these   courts  is  a  court  of  civil  jurisdiction  only? 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  County. 

More  than  two  thirds  of  the  people  of  New  York 
live  in  cities ;  the  remainder  Hve  in  towns ;  but  every 
person,  whether  Hving  in  city  or  town,  Hves  in  a  county. 
What  is  a  county  ?  If  we  look  on  a  large  map  of  New 
York  we  see  that  it  is  cut  up  into  sixty-one  coun- 
ties. Every  county  ^  is,  in  turn,  composed  of  towns,  and 
many  contain  cities  and  villages,  the  people  of  the  different 
towns,  cities,  and  villages  being  united  under  a  county  gov- 
ernment. We  have  seen  the  incorporated  village,  with  its 
separate  village  government,  lying  within  the  town,  the 
village  being  at  the  same  time  a  part  of  the  town  and 
the  villagers  subject  to  town  laws.  In  the  same  way  a 
town  or  city  lies  within  its  county,  the  people  of  city  and 
town  be'ing  subject  to  county  laws,  as  well  as  to  their  own 
town  and  city  laws. 

Why  We  Have  County  Government. — Why  do  we  have 
counties  and  county  government?  First,  because  some 
kinds  of  public  work  are  most  effectively  and  conveniently 
carried  on  by  the  people  of  several  towns  and  villages  united 
in  a  county  government.  But  there  are  other  reasons  for 
the  existence  of  counties  than  mere  convenience.  We  have 
counties,  because,  hke  the  town  and  the  town  meeting,  they 

>  Except  New  York,  Kings,  Queens,  and  Richmond,  which  lie  within  the 
city  of  New  York. 
80 


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REFERENCE 


N. 


.County  Boundary 

.  Tovm  Boundaries 

.Railroads 

■-  Canal3 

Cities  appear  in  this  type  UTICA 
Towns      "        "     "       "       VERNON 
Villages  "       "     "      "      Clinton 


82 


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THE   COUNTY.  83 

have  come  down  to  us,  in  one  form  or  another,  from  the 
earliest  history  of  the  English-speaking  race. 

The  Ancient  German  Tribe. — We  have  seen  our  Teutonic 
ancestors  living  in  self-governing  village  communities,  or 
marks,  in  the  forests  of  ancient  Germany.  We  saw  the 
peaceful  affairs  of  such  a  community  ordered  by  its  freemen 
assembled  in  the  ancient  mark  meeting,  the  forerunner  of 
the  modern  town  meeting.  We  learned  that  the  inhabitants 
of  such  a  mark  community  are  supposed  to  have  been 
united  by  the  tie  of  common  blood,  the  mark  representing 
originally  a  group  of  related  families.  But  running  through 
these  various  isolated  mark  communities,  separated  by  their 
belts  of  waste  and  woodland,  was  another  tie — the  tie  of 
similar  speech  and  nationality.  When  war  threatened,  this 
tie  took  form  in  the  tribal  or  national  assembly,  attended  by 
freemen  from  the  different  kindred  villages.  In  these  tribal 
meetings,  held  in  field  or  forest,  the  freemen,  each  man 
armed  with  spear  and  shield — the  visible  sign  of  his  free- 
dom— ^joined  hands  against  a  common  foe.  Here  they 
chose  chiefs  of  the  tribe,  sentenced  traitors  to  be  hanged 
and  cowards  to  be  smothered  in  mud,  judged  disputes  be- 
tween tribesman  and  tribesman  and  between  village  and  vil- 
lage. Here  questions  of  interest  to  the  tribe  were  debated, 
the  warriors  shouting  their  opposition  or  expressing  their 
approval  by  the  clashing  of  shield  and  spear.  Sometimes 
the  freemen  of  several  mark  communities  united  in  what  was 
called  the  "  ga"  or  "  gau,"  and  sent  a  hundred  fighting  men 
under  their  own  leader  to  the  army  of  the  tribe.  The  "  ga," 
or  "  Hundred,"  as  it  afterwards  came  to  be  called,  also  had 
its  "  hundred  mote,"  or  meeting  of  freemen  from  the  villages 
composing  the  "  hundred." 

The  English  Shire — ^The   organization  of  our  German 


84  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

ancestors  in  tribes  and  hundreds,  as  well  as  in  marks  and 
towns,  was  carried  by  Angle,  Saxon,  Jute  and  Friesian  into 
the  conquered  territory  of  Britain.  We  have  seen  how  the 
mark  community  became  the  old  English  town,  and  how 
later  it  became  the  parish  and  the  manor.  In  Britain  the 
German  "  ga "  and  the  German  tribe  became  respectively 
the  English  "  hundred  "  and  the  little  English  kingdom.  In 
course  of  time  the  various  little  kingdoms  that  developed  on 
English  soil  united  in  the  single  Kingdom  of  England,  each 
petty  kingdom  becoming  a  share,  or  "  shire,"  in  the  greater 
EngHsh  nation.  <'  Out  of  a  union  of  townships,"  says  a 
modern  writer,  "  grew  what  was  finally  known  in  England 
as  the  hundred ;  out  of  a  union  of  hundreds  grew  the 
modern  shire;  out  of  a  union  of  modern  shires  grew  the 
EngHsh  kingdom."  The  king  or  head  man  of  the  former 
petty  kingdom  became  the  -^Idorman,  or  earl,  under  the 
greater  King  of  England ;  and  its  national  or  tribal  assembly 
became  the  English  "  shire  mote,"  or  shire  meeting.^  In  the 
shire  meeting,  laws  were  made  for  the  shire,  and  criminals 

> "  The  primitive  states  in  which  the  settlers  originally  grouped  themselves  in 
Britain  were  reproductions  in  every  material  particular  of  the  Continental 
Teutonic  states,  as  described  by  Csesar  and  Tacitus.  The  unit  of  organiza- 
tion in  the  primitive  state  was  the  village  community,  which  appeared  in 
Britain  as  the  tun  or  township.  By  a  union  of  townships  was  formed  the  dis- 
trict generally  known  in  Germany  as  a  gau  or  ga,  a  name  which  yielded  in 
England  to  that  of  scir  or  shire.  By  a  union  of  gas  or  shires  was  formed 
the  primitive  state.  The  scir  or  shire  was  simply  what  the  word  implies,  a 
division  of  the  larger  whole ;  and  it  is  now  maintained,  with  greater  or  less 
emphasis,  by  the  highest  authorities  that  scir  or  shire  was  the  term  originally 
employed  in  Britain  to  describe  a  district  which  arose  out  of  a  union  of  town- 
ships. But  the  early  shire,  which  thus  represented  the  largest  division  of  the 
primitive  state,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  modern  shire,  which  repre- 
sents the  largest  division  of  the  consolidated  kingdom." — Hannis  Taylor, 
Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution,  Part  I.,  Chap.  V. 


THE    COUNTY.  85 

were  judged,  much  as  in  the  ancient  tribal  assembly.  After 
the  Norman  conquest  of  England,  the  shires  became  known 
as  "  Counties  "  from  their  resemblance  to  districts  of  France 
then  governed  by  counts. 

The  County  in  America. — When  our  English  ancestors 
came  to  America  they  brought  with  them  the  English  plan 
of  county  government.  In  Massachusetts  and  other  New 
England  colonies,  counties  were  formed  by  a  union  of 
towns,  and  each  county  had  its  "  county  court "  for  the  trial 
of  criminals  and  suits  at  law.  In  Virginia,  counties  were 
established  without  towns,  and  in  that  State  the  county  is 
to-day  the  chief  unit  of  local  government.  New  York  had 
town  government  before  it  had  counties.  The  Dutch  early 
established  a  system  of  local  government  in  the  different 
settlements  and  towns;  and  the  Enghsh,  in  1683,  divided 
the  province  into  twelve  counties.  Each  had  its  county 
court,  as  in  Massachusetts,  and  in  each  the  governor  ap- 
pointed a  sheriff  to  collect  provincial  taxes,  and  to  act  as 
the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  county  in  enforcing  pro- 
vincial laws. 

The  Modern  County  in  New  York. — ^The  sixty-one 
counties  into  which  New  York  is  now  divided  have  been 
formed  at  different  times  by  the  State  legislature.  The 
law  defines  a  county  as  "  a  municipal  corporation  compris- 
ing the  inhabitants  within  its  boundaries,  and  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  exercising  the  powers  and  discharging  the 
duties  of  local  government,  and  the  administration  of  public 
affairs  conferred  by  law."  In  plain  words,  this  means  that 
the  people  of  a  county,  like  the  people  of  the  town,  village, 
and  city,  may  act  together  as  a  body  politic,  in  doing  such 
public  work  as  the  State  allows  them  to  do  ;  that,  through 
their  representatives,  they  may  acquire  and  own  houses  and 


86  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

lands  and  other  property  for  county  purposes ;  buy,  sell  and 
make  contracts ;  sue  and  be  sued  in  a  court  of  law,  much  as 
a  single  person.  Each  county  in  New  York  acts  as  an 
agent  for  the  State  in  collecting  taxes  and  enforcing  State 
laws ;  and  each  has  its  own  local  capital  or  *'  county  seat," 
the  meeting  place  of  its  county  board  of  supervisors,  and 
the  place  where  the  county  court  house  and  jail  are  main- 
tained. 

The  County  Board  of  Supervisors.— The  law-making 
body  of  the  county,  like  that  of  the  village  and  city,  is  a 
body  of  representatives  chosen  by  its  voters.  This  is  the 
county  board  of  supervisors,  composed  of  one  supervisor 
from  each  town  and  city  ward  ^  in  the  county.  Each  mem- 
ber  is  elected  for  a  term  of  two  years  by  the  voters  of  his 
town  or  ward,  and  each  supervisor,  as  we  have  seen,'*  is  an 
officer  of  his  town  or  city,  as  well  as  a  county  officer. 

Powers  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors. — The  powers  and 
duties  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  like  the  powers  *and 
duties  of  the  town  meeting,  are  fixed  by  State  law.  They 
may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

The  board  of  supervisors  has  the  custody  of  the  corporate  prop- 
erty of  the  county  ;  audits  accounts  and  charges  against  the  county, 
and  directs  the  raising  by  taxation  of  sums  necessary  to  defray  them  ; 
has  power  to  direct  the  raising  in  each  town  of  a  sum  to  defray  the 
town's  necessary  expenses;  to  cause  to  be  assessed,  levied  and  col- 
lected any  taxes  due  from  the  town  to  the  State  ;  to  fix  the  salaries  of 
county  treasurer,  district  attorney,  and  county  superintendent  of 
the  poor  ;  to  borrow  money  for  the  use  of  the  county,  and  to  author- 

*  Special  laws  govern  in  the  city  of  New  York  as  we  have  seen.  The  State 
Constitution  also  provides  that  in  cities,  whose  boundaries  are  the  same  as  a 
county,  that  the  common  council  or  board  of  aldermen  shall  have  the  duties 
and  powers  of  a  board  of  supervisors. 

3  Chapter  III.,  page  25. 


THE   COUNTY.  87 

ize  a  town  to  borrow  for  town  purposes  ;  to  purchase  land  and  erect  a 

courthouse,  jail,  almshouse,  and  other  county  buildings ;  to  make  local 
laws  for  the  destruction  of  wild  animals  and  noxious  weeds,  and  for  the 
protection  of  fish  and  game  within  the  county ;  to  divide  towns,  alter 
their  boundaries,  and  erect  new  towns  ;  to  form  assembly  districts  under 
State  law  within  the  county;  to  establish  fire  districts  outside  cities 
and  incorporated  villages ;  to  establish  a  county  hospital  for  persons 
suffering  from  tuberculosis ;  to  open  and  discontinue  county  highways, 
and  erect  bridges.  The  board  also  makes  a  list  of  persons  who  may  be 
called  upon  to  serve  as  grand  jurors  in  the  courts  sitting  within  the 
county,^  and  in  some  counties  the  board  has  power,  on  application  of 
the  taxpayers,  to  alter  the  boundaries  of  incorporated  villages. 

Town  and  County  Government.— As  we  study  these 
powers  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  we  see  that  in  many  things 
the  county  government  is  superior  to  and  over  the  govern- 
ments of  the  towns  in  the  county,  as  the  colonel  of  a  regi- 
ment is  superior  to  and  over  his  regimental  captains.  The 
county  may  force  a  town  to  raise  money  for  town  purposes 
or  for  the  State.  It  may  even  do  away  altogether  with  a 
town,  joining  its  people  to  another  town.  In  his  great 
work,  The  American  Commonwealth,  Mr.  James  Bryce  de- 
scribes the  system  of  local  government  carried  on  in  the 
towns  and  counties  of  New  York,  as  being  almost  a  perfect 
one.     He  says : 

"  Of  the  three  or  four  forms  of  local  government  that  I  have  de- 
scribed, that  of  the  town  or  township  with  its  popular  primary  assem- 
bly is  admittedly  the  best.  It  is  the  cheapest  and  most  efficient ;  it 
is  the  most  educative  to  the  citizens  who  bear  a  part  in  it.  The  town 
meeting  has  been  not  only  the  source  but  the  school  of  democracy.  The 
action  of  so  small  a  unit  needs,  however,  to  be  supplemented,  perhaps 
also  in  some  points  supervised,  by  that  of  the  county,  and  in  this  respect 

*  This  is  done  by  commissioners  of  jurors  in  some  counties. 


88  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

the  mixed  system  of  the  Middle  States '  is  deemed  to  have  borne  its 
part  in  the  creation  of  a  perfect  type." 

County  Executive  Officers. — The  county,  like  the  town, 
village,  and  city,  has  its  executive  officers,  to  enforce  its 
laws.  The  principal  county  executive  officers  are  the 
Sheriff,  District  Attorney,  County  Clerk,  County  Treasurer, 
and  Superintendent  of  the  Poor.  These  officers  are  elected 
by  the  voters  of  the  entire  county,  on  the  Tuesday  follow- 
ing the  first  Monday  in  November,  and  they  hold  office  for 
terms  of  three  years  each.  Besides  administering  county 
affairs,  most  of  them  are  agents  of  the  State  in  enforcing 
State  laws  within  the  county.  Any  of  them  may  be  removed 
by  the  governor  of  the  State,  on  charges,  after  a  hearing. 

The  Sheriff. — The  sheriff  is  the  principal  executive  officer 
of  the  county.  It  is  his  business  to  preserve  its  peace,  arrest 
offenders  against  the  law,  and  to  have  the  care  and  custody 
of  convicted  criminals,  and  of  persons  detained  on  suspicion 
of  breaking  the  law.  He  summons  witnesses  and  jurors  to 
attend  courts  held  within  the  county,  and  executes  the  legal 
orders  and  sentences  of  the  judges.  The  sheriff  formerly 
hanged  convicted  murderers  sentenced  to  the  death  pen- 
alty.    So  important  is  he  in  executing  and  enforcing  the 

» In  the  New  England  States  the  town  is  more  important  than  the  county, 
the  latter  existing  largely  as  a  court  district.  The  town  meeting  is  the  prin- 
cipal source  of  local  government.  In  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  the 
towns  send  representatives  to  the  State  legislature.  In  most  Southern  States, 
on  the  contrary,  few  if  any  towns  exist,  the  county  being  the  principal  unit  of 
local  government.  In  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  represented  by  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  etc.,  the 
town  is  the  principal  unit  of  local  government,  while  the  county  is  in  a 
measure  a  supervising  government.  Neither  towns  nor  counties  in  New 
York  send  representatives  to  the  State  legislature,  but  these  are  chosen  in 
senate  and  assembly  districts. 


THE    COUNTY.  89 

decrees  of  the  courts,  that  the  sheriff  has  been  called  **  the 
right  arm  of  the  judge."  If  a  riot  breaks  out,  the  sheriff  has 
power  to  call  out  the  Posse  ComitatuSy  that  is,  all  able- 
bodied  men  in  the  county,  to  suppress  it.  If  then  unable 
to  bring  about  order,  the  sheriff  may  call  upon  the  governor 
of  the  State  to  come  to  his  aid  with  the  State  militia.  The 
sheriff  appoints  an  Under  Sheriff,  and  also  one  Deputy 
Sheriff  for  every  three  thousand  population  in  his  county 
to  assist  him.  So  great  is  his  power,  that  to  prevent  its 
possible  abuse,  the  Slate  forbids  the  election  of  a  particular 
sheriff  for  two  terms  in  succession.^  The  sheriff  is  paid  in 
fees  fixed  by  State  law,  and  in  a  percentage  of  the  money 
which  he  collects  from  the  sale  of  property  ordered  by  the 
courts  to  be  sold  for  the  payment  of  debt  in  execution  of 
civil  judgments.  The  office  of  sheriff  is  derived  from  the 
"shire  reeve,"  or  head  man  of  the  ancient  shire,  who  was 
chosen  by  its  freemen  to  preside  over  the  "shire  mote." 

The  District  Attorney. — The  district  attorney  is  the 
public  prosecutor  of  criminals  in  his  county,  and  the  legal 
adviser  of  its  executive  officers  and  grand  jury.  When 
prosecuting  persons  charged  with  crime,  the  district  at- 
torney acts  as  an  agent  of  the  State,  all  crimes  being  prose- 
cuted by  him  in  the  name  of  "  The  People  of  the  State." 
He  is  paid  a  salary,  which  comes  out  of  the  county  treas- 
ury, and  is  fixed  by  the  county  board  of  supervisors. 

The  County  Treasurer. — The  county  treasurer  has 
charge  of  the  public  moneys  of  the  county.  He  receives 
money  collected  by  the  town  collectors  for  county  and  State 
taxes,  and  pays  the  latter  to  a  State  officer  known  as  the 
Comptroller.  He  also  receives  from  the  comptroller  money 
raised  by  the  State  for  the  public  schools  of  his  county, 
>  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  X.,  Section  i. 


90  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

paying  it  over  to  the  supervisors  of  the  several  towns.  In 
some  counties  the  county  treasurer  is  paid  a  salary  fixed 
by  the  board  of  supervisors,  and  in  others  a  percentage  of 
the  moneys  handled  by  him. 

The  County  Clerk. — The  county  clerk  keeps  the  public 
records  of  the  county,  such  as  records  of  deeds,^  mortgages, 
and  the  judgments  of  its  courts.  He  acts  as  clerk  of  the 
county  court  and  of  the  Supreme  Court  when  sitting  within 
his  county.     He  is  usually  paid  in  fees. 

Other  Officers. — From  one  to  three  superintendents  of 
the  poor  are  elected  or  appointed  in  each  county.  They 
have  charge  of  the  county  poorhouse,  where  poor  persons 
are  cared  for,  and  they  make  a  report  annually  to  the  State 
Board  of  Charities.  The  supervisors  may  appoint  a  county 
superintendent  of  highways.  A  county  may,  if  it  chooses, 
elect  a  county  comptroller.  In  some  counties  having  a 
large  population,  an  officer  known  as  a  Commissioner  of 
Jurors  is  appointed  by  the  courts.^  Every  county  officer 
who  handles  money  of  the  county  must  account  for  it  in  a 
yearly  report  to  the  board  of  supervisors. 

The  County  Court.^ — Every  county  in  the  State,  except 
New  York  county,  has  a  county  court  for  the  trial  of  per- 
sons charged  with  crime  and  for  the  trial  of  civil  suits  at 
law.  A  County  Judge,  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  entire 
county,  for  a  term  of  six  years,  presides  over  the  county 
court.  All  ordinary  crimes  against  persons  and  property, 
except  murder,  may  be  tried  in  a  county  court ;  also  gen- 
erally any  civil  suit  at  law  when  the  sum  sued  for  does  not 
exceed  $2,000.  A  person  aggrieved  by  the  decision  of  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  may  take  the  matter  to  the  county 

1  In  a  few  counties,  deeds  and  mortgages  are  recorded  by  a  register  of 
deeds.  2  See  Chapter  XVI.  »  See  Chapter  XVII. 


THE    COUNTY,  91 

court  for  a  re-trial.  Such  action  is  called  "  appealing  to  the 
county  court."  County  judges  are  paid  salaries,  differing 
in  different  counties,  their  pay  being  fixed  by  State  law  and 
coming  out  of  the  county  treasury. 

Coroners. — Four  coroners,  as  a  rule,  are  elected  in 
each  county.  It  is  a  coroner's  duty  to  investigate  the  causes 
of  sudden  or  suspicious  deaths,  and  he  may,  on  request,  in- 
quire  into  the  cause  of  any  suspicious  fire.  For  these  pur- 
poses he  may  summon  and  examine  under  oath  any  person 
whom  he  thinks  may  have  a  knowledge  of  the  matter  under 
investigation.  Coroners  were  formerly  allowed  to  summon 
a  jury  in  connection  with  their  investigations,  which  are 
termed  inquests.  The  coroner's  jury  was,  however,  abol- 
ished, except  in  counties  wholly  or  partly  in  a  city  of  the 
first  class,  by  State  law  in  1899.  Under  old  English  law 
the  coroner  was  a  peace  officer  like  the  sheriff.  From  this 
ancient  view  of  the  dignity  of  his  office,  has  probably  come 
the  modern  practice  of  requiring  the  coroner  to  act  in  place 
of  the  sheriff  when  the  latter  is  disqualified.  The  modern 
New  York  coroner  is  usually  a  practicing  physician,  though 
this  is  not  required  by  law. 

The  Surrogate  and  His  Court — Each  county  has  a  sur- 
rogate's court  ^  through  which  the  property  of  persons  who 
have  died  is  distributed  among  those  who  are  entitled  by 
law  to  receive  it.^  The  surrogate's  court  also  has  a  general 
oversight  of  the  property  of  persons  not  of  full  age.  The 
duties  of  the  surrogate  were  at  one  time  performed  largely 
by  officers  of  the  church,  usually  the  bishop,  and  the  word, 
♦•surrogate,"  meant  literally  one  who  was  substituted  for 
another.      In   New  York  the  surrogate  is  elected  by  the 

*  Also  called  a  Probate  Court. 

*  See  Chap.  XXV.,  Personal  and  Property  Relations. 


92  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW   YORK. 

voters  of  the  county  for  a  term  of  six  years.^  In  counties 
having  less  than  40,000  population  the  county  judge  acts 
as  surrogate. 

County  Finances. — The  county's  expenses  are  chiefly 
for  work  on  roads  and  bridges,  the  maintenance  of  county 
buildings,  various  expenses  of  courts  in  the  county,  the 
salaries  of  county  officers,  and  the  support  of  inmates  of 
the  county  almshouse  and  county  jail.  To  meet  these 
expenses,  the  county  levies  and  raises  a  tax  on  property  in 
the  county,  as  explained  in  Chapter  XIX. 

Things  to  Remember. — The  county  is  a  municipal 
corporation,  created  by  the  State  law,  and  standing  in  im- 
portance between  the  town  and  the  State.  The  county  gov- 
ernment supervises  in  some  respects  the  government  of  the 
town ;  and  it  acts,  at  the  same  time,  as  an  agent  for  the 
State  in  collecting  State  taxes,  prosecuting  criminals,  and  en- 
forcing State  law.  Each  town  and  city  ward  is  represented 
in  the  county  board  of  supervisors,  the  lawmaking  depart- 
ment of  the  county.  This  board  is  an  example  of  repre- 
sentative democratic  government,  as  the  town  meeting  is  an 
example  of  direct  democratic  government. 

The  people  of  the  county  as  a  whole  elect  a  sheriff, 
county  clerk,  county  treasurer,  and  other  county  executive 
officers. 

The  judicial  officers  of  the  county  are  the  county  judge, 
surrogate,  and  coroners. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

In  what  year  was  your  county  organized }  Is  it  one  of 
the  original  counties  of  the  State,  or  was  it  formed  by  divid- 

1  Fourteen  years  in  New  York  county. 


THE   COUNTY.  93 

ing  one  of  these  counties  ?  What  is  the  name  of  its  county- 
seat  ? 

Give  an  instance  of  the  value  of  county  government  as  a 
matter  of  convenience  in  administering  the  law.  Give  a 
historical  reason  for  county  government.  What  powers  has 
the  New  York  county,  not  generally  possessed  by  the 
county  in  New  England  ? 

What  is  the  origin  of  the  English  shire  ?  What  legisla- 
tive body  in  the  New  York  county  corresponds  to  the  Eng- 
lish shire- mote  ?  Is  the  county  legislative  body  an  example 
of  direct  or  representative  democratic  government  ? 

Name  some  powers  of  a  board  of  supervisors  in  the 
county  government ;  in  the  government  of  its  several  towns. 

Describe  the  duties  of  the  sheriff,  district  attorney, 
county  treasurer,  county  clerk,  county  superintendents  of 
the  poor. 

What  is  the  jurisdiction  of  the  county  court  ? 

Name  two  duties  of  coroners. 

What  are  the  powers  of  a  surrogate's  court  ? 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

For  the  origin  and  development  of  the  English  county,  see  Hannis 
Taylor's  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution,  Part  I.,  Chap. 
III.,  IV.,  and  v.;  Stubbs's  Constitutional  History  of  England,  Vol.  I., 
Sections  30  to  50;  Vol.  II.,  Section  200,  etc.  See  also  Howard's 
Local  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States,  Part  III.  For  a 
comparison  of  county  government  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
States,  see  Btyce'?  Amertfan  Commonwealth,  Vol.  I.,  Chap.  XLVIH. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  State,  and  the  People  Who  Made  It. 

We  now  come  to  a  government  greater  and  more  power- 
ful than  the  governments  of  town,  village,  city,  and  county 
— the  government  of  the  St-ate  of  New  York.  What  is  the 
State?  How  did  it  arise?  What  does  it  do  for  the  peo- 
ple? What  are  its  relations  to  these  lesser  govern- 
ments ? 

If  we  look  on  a  map  of  New  York,  we  see  spread  out  be- 
fore  us  a  representation  of  the  visible  territory  of  the  State. 
On  the  north  we  see  Lake  Ontario,  River  St.  Lawrence,  and 
Canada ;  on  the  east,  Lake  Champlain  and  the  New  Eng- 
land States ;  on  the  south,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey, 
and  Long  Island,  stretching  like  a  huge  foot  out  into  the 
Atlantic,  with  the  city  of  New  York  at  its  heel ;  on  the  west 
we  see  Lake  Erie,  the  Niagara  River  and  Niagara  Falls. 
We  see  forty-nine  populous  cities  and  sixty-one  counties,  the 
whole  crossed  and  lined  by  canals  and  railroads,  and  making 
a  territory  larger  than  the  combined  European  kingdoms  of 
Belgium,  the  Netherlands,  and  Denmark. 

The  State  a  Municipal  Corporation. — But  the  State  of 
New  York,  like  the  town  and  the  county,  is  something  more 
than  territory.  The  real  State  consists  of  the  people  of 
New  York,  united  in  a  political  organization  for  pur- 
poses of  government.  In  this  sense  the  State,  like  the  town, 
village,  city,  and  county,  is  a  municipal  corporation,  having 
the  power  to  perform  its  own  public  work,  manage  its 
94 


THE  STATE,  AND    THE  PEOPLE    WHO  MADE  IT,      .  95 

own  public  property,  and  make  and  enforce  its  own  State 
laws.^ 

But  the  State  is  immeasurably  superior  in  power  and  au- 
thority to  the  lesser  municipal  corporations  of  school  district, 
town,  village,  city,  and  county.  The  State  creates  and  con- 
trols these  lesser  political  bodies,  determining  what  officers 
each  shall  have,  and  how  they  shall  be  chosen,  and  even  re- 
taining the  power  to  remove  the  officers  chosen  in  some  cases. 
It  is  only  by  authority  of  State  law  that  the  lesser  units  ex- 
ist and  do  business  as  distinct  and  separate  governments. 

The  State  as  a  "  Sovereign." — Because  of  the  great 
powers  exercised  by  the  State  government,  New  York  and 
other  States  of  the  United  States,  are  sometimes  spoken  of  as 
"Sovereign  States."  What  does  this  mean?  We  read  of 
kings  and  rulers  who  have  power  to  make  and  enforce  laws, 
whose  word  is  life  or  death  to  their  subjects,  whose  people 
obey  them  without  question.  We  speak  of  such  powerful 
rulers  as  "  sovereigns  " ;  and  the  word  means  one  having 
power  to  rule,  and  one  whose  rule  is  actually  obeyed.  The 
State  of  New  York  possesses  in  large  degree  such  '•  sovereign 
power "  over  its  people  and  over  the  lesser  governments, 
within  its  borders.  Thus,  the  people  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  through  their  representatives,  have  made  a  law  pun- 
ishing the  crime  of  murder  by  death,  and  any  individual 
member  of  the  State  convicted  of  murder  may  be  made  to 
suffer  the  death  penalty.  In  the  same  way,  the  people  of 
New  York  as  a  political  unit,  may  compel  individual  mem- 

>  In  a  strictly  technical  sense,  only  the  lesser  governments  created  by  the 
State — such  as  the  town,  village,  city,  and  county — are  included  in  the  term 
"  municipal  corporation."  But  in  its  broader  sense  a  municipal  corporation 
means  a  body  politic.  This  includes  the  State  "  and  each  of  the  govern- 
mental subdivisions  of  the  State." — American  and  English  Cyclopedia  of  Law. 


96  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

bers  of  the  State  to  shoulder  muskets  and  fight  for  its  de- 
fense,  even  at  the  cost  of  their  own  Hves.  So  the  State  may 
punish  as  guilty  of  treason  individual  citizens  who  strike  at 
its  life.  It  may  also  compel  its  individual  citizens  to  give 
up  their  houses  and  lands  for  a  reasonable  compensation, 
when  needed  for  pubHc  purposes.  None  of  these  sovereign 
powers  are  possessed  by  the  lesser  municipal  corporations. 
No  town,  village,  city,  or  county  may  take  life,  or  force  its 
people  to  take  up  arms  in  its  defense,  punish  its  enemies  for 
treason,  or  take  private  property  for  public  purposes.  Only 
the  State  possesses  such  powers. 

The  United  States  the  Real  Sovereign  Power. — But 
while  we  use  the  term,  "  Sovereign  State,"  in  speaking  of 
New  York  and  other  States  of  the  Union,  we  must  not  con- 
found the  sovereignty  possessed  by  such  States  with  the 
sovereign  powers  exercised  by  the  United  States,  for  na- 
tional purposes  and  in  our  relations  with  foreign  nations.  In 
the  sense  of  being  a  sovereign  power,  capable  of  dealing 
with  foreign  nations,  of  making  war  and  peace,  and  of  enter- 
ing into  treaties  with  foreign  powers,  the  United  States  is 
our  only  sovereign.  The  relations  of  the  United  States  to 
the  individual  States  composing  it,  are  fully  described  in  a 
later  chapter  of  this  book.^ 

Some  Powers  of  the  State. — Notwithstanding  the  limita- 
tions of  State  sovereignty,  the  powers  of  New  York  and 
other  States  of  the  Union  over  individuals  living  within 
their  borders,  are  supreme  in  many  of  the  most  important 
matters  connected  with  our  daily  lives.  Thus  the  State  of 
New  York  makes  laws  punishing  all  ordinary  crimes  which 
are  not  offenses  against  the  United  States  government.  It 
is  State  law  that  prohibits  murder,  arson,  burglary,  forgery, 

>  Chapter  XXII. 


THE  STATE,  AND    THE   PEOPLE   WHO  MADE   IT.       97 

theft,  and  drunkenness.  State  law  prescribes  the  form  of 
marriage,  and  defines  the  rights  and  duties  of  married  peo- 
ple. State  law  controls  and  orders  the  relations  between 
parents  and  children,  masters  and  servants,  guardians  and 
wards,  principals  and  agents.^  Our  laws  regulating  ordinary- 
business  relations  are  mostly  State  laws.  When  we  sue  a 
man  and  compel  him  to  pay  a  debt  or  to  perform  an 
agreement,  we  do  it  in  accordance  with  the  forms  prescribed 
by  the  State.  Houses  and  lands  cannot  be  legally  bought, 
sold,  or  transferred  from  one  person  to  another,  except  ac- 
cording to  laws  made  by  the  State.  Business  corporations  are 
created  and  (except  those  engaged  in  interstate  commerce) 
controlled  by  State  law.  The  State  controls  railroads, 
steamboats  and  other  common  carriers  operating  within  the 
State.  It  enforces  regulations  to  preserve  the  public  health, 
and  it  licenses  and  controls  the  Hquor  business  in  the  State. 
Our  public  schools  are  carried  on  and  our  teachers  licensed 
and  paid  under  the  authority  of  State  law.  The  State  main- 
tains prisons  and  reformatories  for  the  delinquent,  and  vari- 
ous institutions  for  the  insane,  the  blind,  the  deaf,  and  other 
defectives,  and  for  certain  classes  of  the  poor.  Finally,  it 
is  the  State  that  authorizes  the  levying  of  taxes  for  its  own 
support  and  for  the  use  of  all  the  subdivisions  of  the  State. 

Duties  of  the  State. — But  while  the  State  exercises  these 
vast  powers  over  the  individuals  composing  it,  the  State  has 
also  duties  to  perform  in  return.  The  State  must  protect 
the  people  composing  it  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  personal 
rights  to  life,  Uberty,  and  property.  It  must  suppress  crime, 
preserve  the  public  peace,  and  as  far  as  possible,  insure  the 
safety  and  freedom  of  all  its  individual  members. 

Such  are  some  of  the  functions  performed  by  the  people 

1  See  Chapter  XXV.,  "  Personal  and  Property  Relations." 


98  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

of  New  York  through  their  organization  in  the  political 
form  known  as  the  State.  Whence  originated  this  power- 
ful government?  What  are  the  forms  under  which  it  is  ex- 
ercised ?  In  order  to  answer  these  questions  intelligently, 
let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  a  study  of  the  people  who  made 
New  York. 

The  People  Who  Made  New  York— The  Dutch. — New 
York  was  planted  as  a  Dutch  colony.  The  Dutchmen  came 
from  that  small  corner  of  Europe  called  the  Netherlands, 
where  the  land  is  low,  and  the  North  Sea  breaks  threaten- 
ingly on  the  thin  coast.  Much  of  the  soil,  reclaimed  from 
the  ocean,  lies  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  is  protected 
from  overflow  by  huge  dikes  of  timber  and  stone,  some  of 
it  brought  hundreds  of  miles  from  Norway. 

On  this  battlefield  of  the  elements  the  ancestors  of  the 
men  who  planted  New  York  built  and  maintained  their 
homes.  The  Dutchman's  struggle,  first  to  wrest  his  home 
from  the  ocean,  and  then  to  preserve  it,  made  him  fearless, 
resolute,  far-seeing  and  independent.  As  he  would  not 
yield  to  the  sea,  so  he  could  not  be  conquered  by  man.  As 
early  as  the  year  1477 — fifteen  years  before  Columbus  set 
foot  on  the  shores  of  America — the  Dutch  had  forced  their 
rulers  ^  to  agree  to  the  principle  of  "  No  taxation  without 

» The  first  General  Assembly  or  Congress  of  the  Netherlands  was  called 
together  in  1477  by  the  Duchess  Mary  of  Burgundy.  It  refused  to  vote  any 
money  to  the  government  until  its  complaints  had  been  heard  and  justice  had 
been  done  to  the  Dutch  people.  The  assembly  forced  Duchess  Mary  to 
agree  to  "  Het  Groote  Priviligie," — The  Great  Privilege— or  Magna  Charta 
of  the  Dutch  people.  "  The  Great  Privilege,"  among  other  things  gave  the 
Netherlands'  Congress  power  to  levy  taxes,  coin  money,  regulate  manu- 
factures and  commerce,  declare  war  and  raise  armies  and  navies.  It  was  for 
violating  the  provisions  of  The  Great  Privilege  that  the  Dutch  people  in  1581 
deposed  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  and  established  the  Dutch  Republic.     A  very  in- 


THE  STATE,  AND.   THE  PEOPLE  WHO  MADE  IT,      99 

consent."  In  a  war  lasting  from  1 563  to  1648 — ten  times  as 
long  as  our  American  war  for  independence — the  Dutch  won 
their  independence  from  Spain.  When,  in  1609,  the  clumsy 
"  Half  Moon "  rounded  the  western  end  of  Long  Island, 
bringing  Henry  Hudson  and  his  crew  in  sight  of  the  lower 
end  of  Manhattan  Island,  the  Dutchman  in  his  small  corner 
of  Europe,  was  choosing  his  own  rulers,  paying  taxes  levied 
only  by  his  own  consent,  and  the  seven  provinces  of  the 
United  Netherlands  were  under  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment much  like  the  United  States  of  to-day. 

The  English. — While  the  Dutch  were  settling  New 
Netherland,  as  they  called  New  York,  the  "  Mayflower " 
landed  her  Pilgrim  band  on  the  rocky  shores  of  New  Eng- 
land. The  Pilgrims  left  their  homes  to  obtain  personal  and 
religious  freedom.  They  were  brothers  of  the  Puritans  who, 
in  1649,  a  few  years  after  the  **  Mayflower's"  voyage,  over- 
turned monarchy  in  England,  cut  off  the  head  of  the 
tyrannical  Charles  I.,  abolished  the  House  of  Lords,  de- 
clared "  the  people  under  God  to  be  the  origin  of  all  just 
powers,"  ^  and  established  the  English  Free  State  or  Com- 
monwealth. One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Pilgrims  and  other 
Puritans  on  reaching  America  was  to  establish  a  system  of 
direct  democratic  government  in  town  meetings.  But  the 
New  England  Puritans,  although  driven  from  their  European 
homes  by  intolerance,  themselves  became  intolerant.  They 
allowed  only  church  members  to  vote  and  hold  public  office. 

teresting  account  of  this  struggle,  in  which  the  Dutch  people  won  their  inde- 
pendence from  Spain,  is  given  in  a  book  called  Brave  LittU  Holland  and 
What  She  Can  Teach  Us,  by  Prof.  William  Elliot  Griffis.  The  author 
draws  many  parallels  between  the  struggle  for  freedom  in  Holland  and  the 
Struggle  for  American  Independence.  Mr.  John  Lothrop  Motley,  a  famous 
American  author,  also  tells  the  story  in  his  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic. 
» Resolution  of  the  "  Rump  "  Parliament,  1648. 


loo  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEIV   YORK. 

They  hanged  inoffensive  Quakers.  They  drove  Roger  Wil- 
liams into  the  wilderness  for  daring  to  exercise  his  right  to 
think  and  speak  freely.  Because  of  persecutions  like  these 
many  of  the  more  liberal  Puritans  left  New  England,  and 
settled  in  the  territory  which  is  now  New  York.  Hundreds 
of  Englishmen,  including  many  important  families,^  thus 
came  to  New  York,  bringing  the  New  England  town  meet- 
ing to  the  shores  of  Long  Island.  These  liberty-loving 
Puritans  were  heartily  welcomed  by  the  tolerant  Dutch. 

The  French. — The  common  people  of  France  enjoyed  as 
late  as  the  twelfth  century,  a  freedom  unsurpassed  in  most 
parts  of  Europe.  In  many  rural  communities  public  affairs 
were  "  directly  regulated  "  by  "  a  general  assembly  of  the 
inhabitants."  ^  The  French  towns  had  charters  which  gave 
the  townspeople  power  to  make  and  enforce  their  own  local 
laws,  and  to  assess  and  collect  their  own  taxes,  as  well  as 
taxes  due  to  the  king.  Gradually,  however,  these  rights 
were  taken  away  by  the  powerful  kings  of  France,  who  tried 
also  to  dictate  what  religion  Frenchmen  should  practice. 
The  Protestant  French  Huguenots  were  forbidden  to  hold 
meetings,  were  denied  the  right  to  hold  office,  and  forced 
from  the  principal  trades  and  professions.  Thousands  of 
them  fled  to  Holland,  where  French  colonies  took  root  in 
the  principal  cities  of  the  Dutch  Republic.^  In  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century  many  of  these  liberty-loving 
Huguenots  emigrated  from  Holland  to  America.  The  first 
actual  settlers  of  New  York  were  French  Walloons,  "in- 
genious, brave  and  persistent,"  *  and  the  first  director  general 

*  Lamb's  History  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

*  The  State,  Woodrow  Wilson,  Sees.  356-366. 

3  Baird's  The  Huguenot  Emigration  to  America. 

*  Lamb's  History  of  the  City  of  New  York, 


THE   STATE,  AND    THE  PEOPLE  W^^O ''MAI)EVlX-\'^^^ : 

of  New  Netherland  was  a  Frenchman.  In  1685,  Louis 
XIV.,  king  of  France,  revoked  the  famous  law,  known  as  the 
Edict  6f  Nantes,  which  gave  protection  to  the  Huguenots. 
Thousands  more  of  the  bravest  and  best  Frenchmen,  includ- 
ing many  famous  in  letters,  art  and  science,  then  left  their 
country.  Many  came  to  New  York,  bringing  with  them 
education,  habits  of  industry,  graceful  accompHshments,  and 
love  of  personal  and  religious  freedom.^ 

Other  Nationalities. — The  Dutch  early  invited  "  persons 
of  tender  conscience  "  to  settle  in  New  Netherland.  The 
result  was  that  strangers  were  constantly  arriving.  Among 
them  were  Germans,  Swedes,  Scotch  and  Irish.  Love  of 
freedom  seems  to  have  been  a  strong  motive  in  most  of 
these  immigrations.  Such  were  the  people  whose  blood 
mingled  at  the  birth  of  the  "  fearless,  thoughtful,  energetic, 
constructive  people,  politically  alive  and  religiously  free," 
who  "  rejected  hereditary  leaders "  and  laid  broad  the 
foundations  of  the  Empire  State. 

SUMMARY. 

The  State  is  a  municipal  corporation  with  powers  superior 
to  the  municipal  corporations  of  town,  village,  city  and 
county. 

The  State  is  the  creator  of  these  lesser  municipal  corpo- 
rations, and  may  alter  or  abolish  them  at  will. 

The  State  is,  in  a  limited  sense,  a  sovereign,  having  power 
to  take  the  lives  and  property  of  its  citizens.  Most  laws 
punishing  crime  and  regulating  our  ordinary  social  and 
business  relations  are  State  laws ;  but  the  power  of  the  State 
does  not  extend  to  questions  of  national  interest,  or  to  those 

'  Lamb's  History  of  the  City  of  New  York. 


lofe  ?  „-:  fl  °  V.'^C?  VKF:NMENT  OF  NE  W  YORK. 

affecting  our  relations  with  foreign  nations.  These  are  con- 
trolled by  the  United  States,  which  is  the  supreme  power  in 
this  country. 

As  the  citizen  owes  obedience  to  the  State,  so  the  State 
must  protect  the  citizen  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  freedom, 
and  in  his  personal  and  property  rights. 

Liberty-loving  people  from  Holland,  England,  France,  and 
other  European  countries,  settled  New  York,  bringing  with 
them  many  of  the  fundamental  ideas  underlying  our  present 
institutions. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  are  the  relations  generally  of  the  State  to  the  lesser 
municipal  corporations  of  town,  village,  city,  and  county? 

What  is  meant  by  the  term,  "  a  sovereign  State  "  ? 

Mention  some  powers  of  the  State  that  indicate  its 
sovereignty. 

Has  a  county  government  the  right  to  take  life  as  a  pun- 
ishment for  crime  ?  Under  what  laws  may  life  and  property 
be  taken  for  public  purposes  ? 

What  power  in  this  country  is  superior  to  the  State  of 
New  York  ?     For  what  purposes  is  it  superior  ? 

Mention  three  important  subjects  controlled  by  State  law. 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

For  a  discussion  of  the  nature  of  the  American  State,  see  Bryce's 
American  Commonwealth,  Volume  I.,  Chapter  XXXVI.  See  also 
"Character,  Organs  and  Functions  of  the  States,"  Sections  1087, 
1088,  etc.,  in  Prof.  Woodrow  Wilson's  The  State.  For  a  discussion 
of  the  meaning  of  the  term  sovereignty,  see  Burgess's  Political  Science 
and  Constitutional  Law,  Part  I.,  Book  II.,  Chapter  I.  For  an 
interesting  but  exaggerated  account  of  the  influence  of  the  Dutch  in 


THE  STATE,   AND    THE  PEOPLE   WHO  MADE  IT     103 

the  development  of  American  political  institutions,  see  Douglass 
Campbell's,  The  Puritan  in  Holland,  England  and  America.  Brave 
Little  Holland  and  What  She  Can  Teach  Us,  by  Prof.  William 
Elliot  Griffib,  contains  many  interesting  and  suggestive  comparisons 
between  the  development  of  free  democratic  institutions  in  the  Dutch 
Republic  and  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Ho'vr  Nevr  York  Became  a  State. 

When  the  Dutch  settled  in  the  country  discovered  by 
Henry  Hudson,  the  United  Neth'&rlands,  the  home  of  the 
Dutchmen,  were  at  war  with  Spain.  The  latter  owned  vast 
colonies  in  America,  and  Spanish  ships  crossed  the  Atlantic 
carrying  fabulous  treasures  of  gold  and  silver,  the  spoil  of 
her  American  possessions,  home  to  Spain.  In  1620,  lead- 
ing merchants  in  the  Netherlands  organized  the  West  India 
Company,  secured  powerful  fighting  vessels,  and  the  per- 
mission to  attack  Spain's  American  possessions.  They  also 
hoped  to  capture  the  Spanish  treasure  ships  as  they  crossed 
the  Atlantic.  As  a  part  of  its  plan  of  operations  the  West 
India  Company  agreed  to  colonize  and  defend  the  country 
discovered  by  Hudson,  in  return  for  the  exclusive  right  of 
trading  with  the  Indians  there.  This  right  the  United  Neth- 
erlands granted  to  the  West  India  Company,  and  the  latter 
thus  came  into  possession  of  the  country  between  the  Con- 
necticut and  Delaware  rivers.  Through  the  middle  of  this 
vast  territory  flowed  the  Hudson  River,  and  the  company 
built  forts,  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  on  the  site  of 
the  present  city  of  New  York,  and  another  well  up  towards 
its  source,  where  Albany  now  stands. 

To  this  country,  which  the  Dutch  called  New  Nether- 
land,  the  West  India  Company  at  once  began  to  send  colo- 
nists. It  framed  a  plan  of  government  for  its  new  posses- 
sions, and  appointed  a  Director  General  to  govern  them,  who 
104 


HOW  NEW  YORK  BECAME  A   STATE,  105 

was  himself  given  power  to  appoint  a  Council.  Director 
and  council  made  laws  for  New  Netherland,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  West  India  Company,  and  the  government 
of  the  United  Netherlands.  The  company  forbade  its  colo- 
nists to  engage  in  manufacturing  or  trade,  and  parcelled  out 
the  land  lying  along  the  Hudson  and  Delaware  rivers  to 
great  proprietors  called  "  Patroons,"  who  agreed  to  plant 
colonies  on  their  lands.  Each  patroon  ruled  like  a  little 
king  on  his  vast  estate.  The  actual  settlers  of  New  Nether- 
land, the  hard-working  farmers  and  mechanics,  had  no  voice 
in  the  management  of  public  affairs. 

The  Beginnings  of  Representative  Government. — In  164 1 
Director  General  Kieft,  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
quarreled  with  the  Indians,  and  called  a  meeting  of  tne  heads 
of  the  families  living  in  New  Amsterdam  and  vicinity  (now 
New  York  city)  to  obtain  their  advice.  At  this  meeting 
the  people  chose  "  Twelve  Select  Men,"  all  emigrants  from 
Holland,  to  act  for  them.  The  twelve  asked  that  they  be 
given  a  place  in  the  director's  council,  that  the  people  might 
have  a  voice  in  their  own  government.  The  director  there- 
upon dismissed  the  twelve  men  and  ordered  them  to  hold 
no  more  meetings.  In  1643  the  people  again  chose  eight 
men,  who  appealed  to  the  government  of  the  United  Neth- 
erlands and  asked  for  the  removal  of  the  director. 

In  1646  the  West  India  Company  made  Peter  Stuyvesant 
director  general.  Stuyvesant  told  the  people  that  he  had 
come  to  "govern  them  as  a  father  does  his  children,"  but 
he  soon  found  himself  in  difficulty  over  the  taxes  which  he 
laid  upon  the  people  without  their  consent.  He  then  asked 
the  different  settlements  to  choose  eighteen  men,  from  whom 
he  would  select  nine  men  to  act  "  as  the  people's  tribunes  " 
to  advise  the  director  and  council.     The  nine  men  chosen 


lo6  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

by  Stuyvesant  did  not  wait,  however,  to  be  called  upon  for 
advice,  but  boldly  appealed  to  the  government  of  the  United 
Netherlands,  and  asked  that  New  Netherland  be  taken  from 
under  "  the  intolerable  rule  "  of  the  West  India  Company  ; 
"  for  no  man,"  said  they,  "  is  unmolested  or  secure  in  his 
property."  They  asked  that  New  Netherland  be  made  a 
province  under  the  rule  of  the  States  General  or  Congress 
of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  that  each  town  be  given  a 
local  government  "  resembling  the  laudable  government  of 
the  fatherland."  As  a  result  of  these  appeals  the  West 
India  Company  gave  the  people  of  the  different  settlements 
power  to  choose  certain  persons  from  whom  the  director 
general  should  select  local  officers  known  as  "schout," 
"  schepens,"  and  "  burgomasters  "  for  each  settlement. 

The  Assembly  of  1653. — In  December,  1653,  an  assembly, 
composed  of  two  men  from  each  settlement  on  Long  Island 
and  along  the  lower  Hudson,  met  in  New  Amsterdam  and 
denounced  Director  Stuyvesant  for  making  laws  and  ap- 
pointing officers  without  the  consent  of  the  people,  declaring 
such  practices  "contrary  to  the  granted  privileges  of  the 
Dutch  government,  and  odious  to  every  free-born  man." 
Troubles  now  came  thick  and  fast  in  New  Netherland.  The 
English  seized  the  land  west  of  the  Connecticut  River.  The 
towns  on  Long  Island  rose  in  rebellion.  The  Indians  threat- 
ened war,  and  the  treasury  of  the  West  India  Company  was 
empty.  In  the  midst  of  these  troubles,  Director  Stuyve- 
sant, at  the  request  of  the  burgomasters  and  schepens  of 
New  Amsterdam,  called  together  the  first  Provincial  As- 
sembly ever  held  on  the  soil  of  what  is  now  New  York. 

New  York's  First  Provincial  Assembly. — This  assembly 
met  April  10,  1664.  It  was  composed  of  twenty- four  men, 
two  being  chosen  by  the  people  of  each  of  the  twelve  towns 


HO IV  NEW    YORK  BECAME  A   STATE,  107 

or  settlements  in  New  Netherland.  It  called  on  the  West 
India  Company  to  protect  New  Netherland  from  the  Indians 
and  English,  but  refused  to  vote  a  tax  proposed  by  Stuy- 
vesant.  A  few  months  later  English  warships  sailed  into  the 
harbor  of  New  Amsterdam.  The  Dutch  flag  was  hauled 
down  and  New  Netherland  passed,  September  8,  1664,  from 
the  rule  of  the  West  India  Company  into  the  hands  of  the 
English. 

New  York  Under  the  English. — Charles  II.  was  then 
king  of  England.  He  gave  New  Netherland  to  his  brother 
James,  Duke  of  York.  The  duke  sold  the  land  lying  be- 
tween the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware,  and  called  the  remain- 
der "  New  York,"  after  the  county  in  England  over  which 
he  ruled.  He  appointed  Col.  Richard  Nicholls  to  be 
governor  of  New  York,  and  the  governor  was  allowed  to 
appoint  a  council.  Governor  Nicholls  was  given  power  to 
make  and  interpret  the  laws  of  the  province.  He  thereupon 
prepared  a  code  known  as  "  The  Duke's  laws,"  which  he 
presented  to  a  convention  of  representatives  from  the  towns 
of  the  proviHce.  This  code  was  even  less  Hberal  than  the 
laws  of  the  West  India  Company,  for  under  it  the  people 
were  not  allowed  to  choose  their  own  local  officers,  or  to 
have  a  voice  in  the  laying  of  taxes  which  they  must  pay. 
The  convention  objected  to  **  The  Duke's  laws,"  but  the 
governor  told  its  members  that  he  was  the  real  master  in 
New  York,  and  if  they  wanted  a  larger  share  in  the  govern- 
ment they  must  go  to  the  king.  Under  his  new  laws  the 
governor  appointed  a  mayor,  aldermen,  and  a  sheriff,  in 
place  of  the  Dutch  schepens  and  burgomasters  of  New 
Amsterdam,  and  named  local  officers  in  each  of  the  other 
towns. 

The  Duke  Consents  to  an  Assembly. — After   many   de- 


lo8  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

mands  by  the  people,  the  Duke  of  York  at  last  consented, 
as  a  means  of  raising  revenue  from  New  York,  to  give  it  a 
provincial  assembly.  In  1683  he  gave  the  freeholders,  or 
landowners,  power  to  choose  representatives  to  an  assembly 
with  liberty  "  to  consult  and  debate  on  all  affairs  of  public 
interest."  This  assembly  met  in  1683.  It  was  composed 
of  ten  councilors,  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  of  seven- 
teen  representatives,  elected  by  the  freeholders.  It  is 
memorable  for  having  gathered  into  one  historic  document 
a  summary  of  the  more  important  rights  and  privileges 
known  to  the  people  who  made  New  York,  and  for  enacting 
them  into  law,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Charter  of  Liberties 
and  Privileges." 

The  Charter  of  Liberties  and  Privileges.— This  famous 
charter,  enacted  more  than  two  centuries  ago,  and  nearly 
one  hundred  years  before  the  American  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, contains  in  substance  most  of  the  rights  for 
which  the  war  of  the  revolution  was  afterwards  fought,  and 
in  outline  many  of  the  more  important  rights  possessed  by 
the  people  of  New  York  to-day.  • 


The  charter  of  liberties  and  privileges  declared  the  supreme  law- 
making power  of  the  province  to  be  in  the  governor,  council,  and 
people  of  New  York,  met  in  general  assembly  ;  that  every  freeholder 
and  freeman  should  be  allowed  to  vote  for  representatives  without 
restraint  ;  that  no  freeman  should  suffer  under  the  law  except  by  the 
judgment  of  his  equals ;  that  all  trials  at  law  should  be  by  jury  of 
twelve  men  ;  that  no  tax  should  be  levied  except  by  the  consent  of 
the  assembly  ;  that  no  seaman  or  soldier  should  be  quartered  on  the 
people  against  their  will  ;  that  no  martial  law  should  prevail ;  and 
that  no  person  professing  faith  in  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  should  be  at 
any  time  questioned  for  any  difference  of  opinion.* 

1  Lossing's   Empire  State, 


HO IV  NEW   YORK  BECAME  A   STATE.  109 

The  Duke  Becomes  King. — The  Duke  of  York  is  said 
to  have  signed  and  sealed  the  charter  of  hberties  and 
privileges,  but  it  was  never  delivered  to  the  people.  Two 
years  later  the  duke  became  James  II.,  Kmg  of  England. 
Fearing  the  growing  spirit  of  independence  in  the  colonies, 
he  rejected  New  York's  charter  of  liberties  and  privileges, 
abolished  the  assembly,  took  away  the  charters  of  the  New 
England  colonies,  forbade  the  people  to  gather  in  town 
meetings,  and  levied  oppressive  taxes  without  their  consent. 
In  1688  the  English  people  drove  him  from  the  throne  and 
invited  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  the  Stadtholder  *  of  the 
Dutch  Republic,  with  his  wife,  Mary,  the  daughter  of  the 
deposed  James,  to  the  throne  of  England. 

King  William  Establishes  a  Government  for  New  York, 
— King  William  ordained  a  government  for  New  York, 
composed  (i)  of  a  governor,  appointed  by  the  king;  (2)  a 
council,  which  consisted  first  of  seven  and  afterwards  of 
twelve  members,  also  appointed  by  the  king ;  and  (3)  an 
assembly  elected  by  the  freeholders  of  each  county  of  the 
province.  In  their  mimic  sphere  these  departments  cor- 
responded to  the  king,  lords,  and  commons  of  England. 
All  laws  were  required,  after  passing  the  governor  and  as- 
sembly,  to  be  submitted  to  the  king ;  and  no  law  could  be 
passed  contrary  to  the  general  laws  of  England.  To  the 
assembly  was  given  the  important  power  of  levying  taxes 
for  the  support  of  the  provincial  government. 

Governors  Against  Assembly. — Now  began  a  long  and 
bitter  struggle,  ending  only  with  the  war  of  the  American 
Revolution,  between  the  governors  representing  the  king, 
and  the  assembly  representing  the  people  of  New  York. 
The   governors   demanded   that    the   assembly  give  them 

J  An  officer  something  like  our  President  of  the  United  States. 


no  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

a.  regular  and  permanent  income  for  the  support  of  the 
provincial  government.  The  assembly  refused  to  grant 
any  money  except  for  short  periods,  and  asserted  its 
right,  as  representing  the  people  who  paid  the  taxes,  to  re- 
ceive a  statement  of  the  government's  expenses.  The  royal 
governors  dissolved  assembly  after  assembly,  only  to  find 
the  next  one  equally  determined  and  fearless.  "  No- 
where," says  the  historian  Bancroft,  "  had  the  relations  of  a 
province  to  Great  Britain  been  so  sharply  controverted  as 
in  New  York."  In  1753  the  British  government  yielded, 
and  consented  to  yearly  grants  of  money  by  the  assembly. 
The  governors  were  also  obliged  to  give  a  yearly  statement 
of  expenses  to  the  assembly.  New  York  had  won  its  most 
important  right  of  self-government — the  right  to  levy  its 
own  taxes  and  to  say  how  they  should  be  spent. 

New  York  Becomes  a  State. — New  York  had  now, 
after  nearly  ninety  years  of  English  rule,  become  almost 
wholly  English  in  customs  and  feelings.  The  people  looked 
upon  themselves  as  possessing,  by  residence  and  legislative 
conquest,  all  the  rights  of  Englishmen.  But  when  the 
Stamp  Act  was  passed  in  1765,  by  the  British  Parliament, 
it  seemed  to  the  people  of  New  York  to  overthrow  at  one 
stroke  all  that  had  been  gained  for  liberty  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  Great  Britain's  insistance  led  to  the  union 
of  the  colonies  in  the  Continental  Congress,  which  recom- 
mended that  each  colony  set  up  for  itself  an  independent 
government  under  the  general  authority  of  the  Congress. 
A  provincial  convention,  elected  by  the  people  of  New 
York,  met  at  Kingston  in  1/77,  framed  the  first  constitution 
of  the  State,  and  adopted  it  April  20.  It  was  at  once  pub- 
lished  as  the  law  of  the  land  by  the  secretary  of  the  con- 
vention mounting  a  barrel  in  front  of  the  courthouse  where 


HOPV  NEW   YORK  BECAME  A   STATE.  in 

the  convention  was  sitting,  and  reading  the  constitution  to 
the  assembled  multitude.  Thus  New  York  took  its  place 
as  one  of  the  States  in  our  great  American  Union. 

SUMMARY. 

New  York  was  settled  under  the  direction  of  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company,  a  private  corporation  which  was 
given  the  power  to  govern,  as  well  as  colonize  the  country. 
The  West  India  Company,  under  the  general  supervision 
of  the  government  of  the  United  Netherlands,  made  and  en- 
forced  the  laws  of  New  York,  and  the  people  had  at  first  no 
voice  in  public  affairs. 

At  public  meetings  called  by  the  director  generals  of  the 
West  India  Company,  the  people  chose  at  different  times 
twelve,  eight,  and  nine  men  to  act  for  them  in  public 
matters.  This  was  the  beginning  of  popular  representation 
in  the  province.  Delegated  conventions,  whose  members 
were  chosen  by  the  towns  of  the  province,  demanded  local 
self-government  and  the  right  to  tax  themselves,  as  under 
the  home  government  in  the  Netherlands. 

In  1664  New  Netherland  became  the  English  province 
of  New  York;  and  in  1683  the  freeholders  were  given  the 
right  to  elect  a  representative  provincial  assembly. 

The  first  provincial  assembly,  under  English  rule,  enacted 
in  1683,  the  charter  of  liberties  and  privileges,  which 
contained  in  outline  many  of  the  most  important  rights 
guaranteed  by  the  present  State  constitution. 

In  1 69 1  the  assembly  obtained  the  important  power  of 
levying  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  provincial  government ; 
and  in  1753 — sixty-two  years  later — the  right  of  saying  how 
the  taxes,  so  levied,  should  be  spent. 

In    1777   a    constitutional    convention,   elected  by  the 


U2  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

people,  adopted  and  published  the  first  constitution  of  New 
York  State. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

How  did  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  come  into 
possession  of  the  territory  which  is  now  New  York  ? 

Describe  the  beginnings  of  representative  government  in 
New  Netherland. 

What  were  "  the  Duke's  laws  "  ? 

Give  an  account  of  the  assembly  which  enacted  the 
charter  of  liberties  and  privileges. 

What  important  right  was  given  to  the  New  York  assembly 
by  William  and  Mary? 

Give  an  account  of  the  controversy  between  the  royal 
governors  of  New  York  and  the  assembly.  How  did  this 
controversy  end  ? 

Give  an  account  of  the  formation  of  the  first  constitution 
of  New  York. 


CHAPTER  X. 
The  State  Constitution. 

We  have  seen  a  Dutch  colony  planted  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  become  the  home  of  a  cosmopolitan  and  liberty- 
loving  people,  and  develop  under  more  than  a  century  of 
English  rule  into  the  State  of  New  York.  Let  us  now  look 
at  the  form  of  government  under  which  the  people  of  New 
York  live  and  work  and  conduct  their  public  business. 

The  State  Constitution. — If  you  have  helped  to  form  a 
debating  club  or  a  Hterary  society,  you  will  probably 
remember  that  one  of  the  first  things  done  was  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  draw  up  a  set  of  rules  for  the  orderly  govern- 
ment of  the  club.  These  rules  defined  and  fixed  the  powers 
and  duties  of  the  officers  and  the  rights  and  duties  of 
the  members.  Such  a  set  of  rules  is  called  a  constitution. 
The  constitution,  when  reported  by  the  committee, 
is  voted  upon,  "yes"  or  "no,"  by  the  members  of  the 
club.  If  accepted  it  becomes  the  law  of  the  club,  and 
cannot  be  altered  or  done  away  with  except  by  the  club. 
No  officer  or  member  may  lawfully  do  anything  contrary  to 
the  constitution.  In  a  somewhat  similar  way,  and  for  much 
the  same  purposes,  the  people  of  New  York  have  adopted  a 
written  constitution  as  the  fundamental  or  underlying  law 
of  the  State. 

The  Constitution  the  Supreme  Law  of  the  State. — 
The  written  State  constitution,  adopted  by  a  majority  of 
the  voters  of  the  State,  establishes  in  outline  the  government 

"3 


"4  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 

of  the  State,  as  the  constitution  of  the  debating  club 
estabhshes  in  outHne  the  government  of  the  club.  No 
public  officer  or  citizen  may  lawfully  do  anything  contrary 
to  the  constitution,  and  no  law  may  be  passed  by  the  State 
legislature  that  is  not  in  harmony  with  it,  for  the  constitution 
is  itself  the  supreme  law  of  the  State.  There  is  no  law  in 
New  York  superior  to  its  State  constitution,  except  the  law 
found  in  the  constitution  and  statutes  of  the  United  States, 
dealing  with  subjects  which  the  people  of  the  United  States 
have  taken  away  from  the  States,  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  national  government.^ 

Beginnings  of  the  Idea  of  the  Constitution  Found  in  the 
Ancient  City  Charter. — The  written  constitution,  in  which 
the  people  outline  their  form  of  government,  and  limit  the 
powers  and  duties  of  their  public  officers,  is  generally  spoken 
of  as  having  its  origin  on  American  soil ;  but  the  beginning 
of  the  idea  may  be  traced  to  a  much  earlier  period  than  the 
formation  of  the  States  of  the  American  Union.  In  our 
study  of  the  city,  we  learned  how  the  ancient  towns  and 
cities  of  Holland,  England  and  other  European  countries, 
obtained  written  charters  from  their  kings  or  lords.  We 
saw  how  the  people  bargained  for  the  right  to  elect  their 
own  local  officers  and  to  obtain  their  own  courts  of  justice. 
We  saw  the  rights  thus  obtained  written  upon  parchment 
and  preserved  as  the  charter  of  the  city.  In  such  written 
charters  may  be  traced  the  beginning  of  the  idea  of  the 
written  State  constitution. 

Magna  Charta. — In  the  year  1 21 5,  the  English  people 
lived  under  the  reign  of  the  tyrannical  and  wicked  King 
John.  He  cruelly  murdered  his  nephew,  Prince  Arthur, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  lives  and  property  of  his 

»  See  Chapter  XXII.,  "The  United  States,  The  States  and  the  People." 


THE  STATE    CONSTITUTION,  1 15 

subjects  for  his  own  selfish  purposes.  At  last  the  great 
lords  and  barons  of  England  could  stand  John's  injustice  no 
longer.  They  gathered  an  army,  and  met  the  king  at  the 
meadow  of  Runnymede,  by  the  River  Thames,  •'  where 
rushes  grow  in  the  clear  water  and  its  banks  are  green  with 
grass  and  trees."  Here  they  forced  the  king  to  sign  a 
paper  known  ever  since  as  the  great  charter  of  English 
liberty — Magna  Charta.  In  this  great  charter,  a  copy  of 
which,  yellow  with  age,  is  still  preserved  in  the  Lincoln 
Cathedral,  King  John  promised  that  he  would  not  sell, 
delay,  or  deny  justice  to  any  man  ;  that  he  would  imprison 
no  man  without  a  fair  trial;  that  he  would  observe  the 
liberties  granted  in  the  charters  of  the  towns  and  cities,  and 
that  he  would  lay  no  taxes  upon  the  people  except  by  con- 
sent of  their  representatives  in  the  "  general  council  of  the 
kingdom  " — that  is,  the  English  Parliament.  The  king 
signed  the  great  charter  with  a  smile  on  his  lips,  but  when 
he  had  parted  with  the  barons  he  raved  like  a  madman, 
flinging  himself  on  the  floor,  and  gnawing  sticks  and  straw 
in  his  impotent  rage  ^ — all  because  he  had  signed  a  paper 
agreeing  to  observe  the  laws  and  not  to  oppress  his  people. 
This  great  charter,  signed  by  John,  is  often  spoken  of  as 
being  a  part  of  the  English  constitution,  ^  and  many  pro- 

»  Green's  History  of  the  English  People. 

'  The  English  have  no  formal  written  document  known  as  The  Constitu- 
tion, such  as  we  have  in  the  United  States.  They  consider  those  things  to 
be  constitutional  which  have  been  long  established  by  custom  and  usage,  or 
which  have  been  enacted  by  Parliament.  The  English  from  the  earliest 
times  have  claimed  certain  rights  and  privileges  as  belonging  to  the  people, 
because  they  were  held  to  be  in  accord  with  the  good  customs  and  laws  of 
the  past.  These  rights  and  privileges  have  been  summarized  from  time  to 
time  in  such  historic  documents  as  Magna  Charta,  the  Petition  of  Right  of 
1628,  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  the  Bill  of  Rights  of  1689.  Hence  these 
documents  are  spoken  of  as  forming  a  part  of  the  English  constitution. 


Ii6  GOVEJRNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

visions  in  our  American  State  constitutions  may  be  traced 
to  it. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Dutch  Republic. — In  1477  an 
event  took  place  in  the  Netherlands  quite  similar  to  the 
signing  of  Magna  Charta  in  England.  A  congress  of 
representatives  from  the  different  States  of  the  Nether- 
lands  forced  Duchess  Mary,  their  ruler,  to  sign  "  Het 
Groote  Priviligie,"  (The  Great  Privilege),  in  which  she 
promised  to  observe  the  liberties  granted  in  the  ancient 
charters  of  the  Dutch  cities,  and  to  lay  no  taxes  on  the  peo- 
ple except  by  consent  of  their  representatives.  When  the 
Dutch  threw  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  and  the  Republic  of 
the  United  Netherlands  was  formed  in  1581,  "Het  Groote 
Priviligie,"  signed  by  Duchess  Mary,  was  made  the  basis 
of  the  written  constitution  of  the  Dutch  republic.^ 

Charters  in  the  American  Colonies. — Most  of  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  North  America  were  planted  and  grew  up 
under  written  charters.  Some  of  these  charters  were 
granted  by  the  English  king  to  companies  of  merchants 
similar  to  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  which  settled 
New  York.  These  charters  usually  gave  the  company  the 
right  to  settle  the  land,  and  to  govern  the  colonies  which 
it  planted,  by  officers  appointed  by  the  company.  Such 
were  the  first  charters  issued  to  the  companies  who 
colonized  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.  Other  colonies, 
like  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland,  were  planted  under  the 
rule  of  great  proprietors  like  William  Penn,  who  owned  the 
land,  and  gave  charter  government  to  the  people  who 
settled  upon  it.  Still  others,  like  Rhode  Island  and  Con- 
necticut, received  charters  directly  from  the  king,  under 
which  the  people  were  allowed  to  choose  their  own  officers, 

*  Motley's  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  condensed  by  Griffis. 


THE   STATE   CONSTITUTION.  117 

and,  within  certain  limits,  make  their  own  laws.  The  first 
written  constitution  actually  made  by  the  people  of  America 
was  framed  by  the  freemen  of  the  three  towns  of  Windsor, 
Hartford,  and  Weathersfield,  lying  in  the  Connecticut  valley. 
It  was  called  "  The  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut." 
King  Charles  II.  accepted  it  as  a  lawful  form  of  govern- 
ment  for  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  which  retained  the 
"  Fundamental  Orders,"  with  scarcely  any  change,  down  to 
the  time  of  the  revolutionary  war. 

Colonial  Charters  Become  State  Constitutions. — Under 
these  various  charters  the  American  colonies  grew  up  with 
governments  having  general  features  much  alike  in  every 
colony.  Each  colony  had  a  governor  and  council,  gener- 
ally appointed  by  the  king,  and  an  assembly  usually  elected 
by  the  people.  These  constituted  the  law-making  power 
of  the  colony,  subject  to  the  government  of  England. 
When  the  colonies  became  States,  soon  after  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  it  was  easy  for  the  people,  by  mak- 
ing some  alterations,  to  change  their  written  charters 
granted  by  the  king  or  great  proprietor,  into  written  State 
constitutions.^ 

» "  When  they  (the  colonies)  cast  oflF  their  allegiance  to  Great  Britain  their 
self-constitution  as  independent  political  bodies  took  the  shape  of  a  re-casting 
of  their  colonial  constitutions  simply.  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  did 
not  find  it  necessary  to  change  their  charters  in  any  important  particular; 
they  already  chose  their  own  governors  and  officials  as  well  as  made  their 
own  laws.  The  other  colonies,  with  little  more  trouble,  found  adequate 
means  of  self-government  in  changes  which  involved  hardly  more  than  sub- 
stituting the  authority  of  the  people  for  the  authority  of  the  English  Crown. 
'But  the  charter,  the  written  constituent  law,  was  retained:  the  new  govern- 
ments had  their  charters  which  emanated  from  the  people,  as  the  old  govern- 
ments had  had  theirs  given  by  the  king.  .  .  .  The  colonists  were  not 
inventing  written  constitutions ;  they  were  simply  continuing  their  former 
habitual  constitutional  life." — Woodrow  Wilson,  The  State,  Section  1062. 


Ii8  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

How  the  Constitution  of  New  York  Was  Made. — 
New  York  did  not  have  a  charter  government,  unless  we 
speak  of  the  charter  given  by  the  Netherlands  States 
General  to  the  West  India  Company,  as  such  a  government. 
It  is  true  that  the  first  provincial  assembly  under  the  rule 
of  the  Duke  of  York,  enacted  in  1683  the  charter  of 
liberties  and  privileges,  but  it  was  not  accepted  by  the 
duke.  Our  first  State  constitution  was  the  work  of  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  chosen  by  the  voters  of  the  State  soon 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  This  convention 
was  given  power  to  frame  the  outline  of  a  government  for 
the  new  State.  It  completed  its  work,  as  we  have  seen, 
while  sitting  at  Kingston,  in  1777.  The  newly-framed  con- 
stitution declared  that  the  power  to  govern  the  State  rested 
in  the  people  of  the  State.  It  continued  the  assembly  as 
under  the  old  provincial  government,  and  provided  for  a 
governor  to  be  elected  by  the  landowners  or  freeholders  of 
the  State,  and  for  a  Senate  of  twenty-four  freeholders,  also 
elected  by  the  freeholders,  to  take  the  place  of  the  council, 
formerly  appointed  by  the  king.  This  constitution  was  not 
submitted  to  the  people.  The  times  were  perilous;  a 
British  army  was  about  to  invade  the  State.  The  constitu- 
tion makers  simply  published  the  result  of  their  work, 
which  at  once  became  the  law  of  the  State. 

Revising  the  Constitution. — New  York's  constitution  has 
been  revised  or  remodeled  several  times  by  conventions 
elected  for  that  purpose  by  the  voters  of  the  State.  The 
first  important  revision  took  place  in  1 82 1,  the  second  in 
1846,  and  the  third  in  1894.  When  the  members  of  a  con- 
vention elected  to  revise  the  constitution  have  carefully 
considered  proposed  changes,  and  have  agreed  among 
themselves  upon  a  new  or  revised  constitution,  it  is  sub- 


THE   STATE    CONSTITUTION,  119 

mitted  to  the  voters  of  the  State  for  their  approval  or  rejec- 
tion. Printed  ballots  are  prepared  and  distributed  to  each 
voter  as  he  reaches  the  polling  place  at  the  time  of  the  elec- 
tion. On  these  ballots  are  the  words,  "  yes  "  or  "  no,"  in- 
dicating whether  or  not  the  voter  wishes  to  vote  for  or 
against  the  proposed  new  constitution.  If  a  majority  of  the 
"  electors  voting  thereon  "  ^  vote  in  favor  of  the  new  consti- 
tution, it  becomes  the  law  of  the  State.  If  not,  the  pro- 
posed constitution  is  rejected,  and  the  people  continue  to 
live  under  their  old  constitution.  We  thus  see  that  the 
people  of  a  great  State,  adopt  their  fundamental  law  much 
as  the  voters  of  a  town  meeting  vote  "  yes  "  or  "  no,"  upon 
propositions  submitted  to  them. 

What  the  Constitution  of  New  York  Contains — When 
we  look  at  the  constitution,  as  found  in  the  "  Red  Book,"  or 
Legislative  Manual  of  the  State,  we  see  that  it  may  be 
naturally  but  somewhat  roughly  divided  into  four  parts. 
The  first  is  a  sort  of  great  charter  of  liberties  or  enumera- 
tion of  the  people's  rights,  which  may  never  be  taken  away 
or  abridged  by  the  people's  rulers.  This  part  of  the  consti- 
tution is  sometimes  called  the  "Bill  of  Rights."^  The 
second  part  states  who  may  vote  in  New  Yorjc,  prescribes 
the  qualifications  of  voters,  and  the  manner  of  conducting 
public  elections.  The  third  part  lays  down  the  form  and 
framework  of  the  State  government,  fixes  the  boundaries  of 
legislative  and  judiciary  districts,  and  defines  the  powers 
and  duties  of  the  State  officers.  The  fourth  part  con- 
tains miscellaneous  provisions  relative  to  the  money,  cred- 
its, debts  and  laws  of  the  State,  relative  to  corporations, 
public   charities,   the   schools,   the   powers   and   duties   of 

>  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  XIV.,  Section  i. 
2  See  Chapter  XI. 


120  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

local  officers,  and  the  government  of  cities,  counties  and 
villages. 

Amending  the  Constitution. — In  a  government  like  ours 
it  is  important  for  the  freedom  and  safety  of  the  people,  that 
ample  opportunity  be  given  to  amend  the  constitution. 
Otherwise  constitutional  government  might  become  a 
tyranny,  and  its  only  remedy  a  revolution.  A  constitution 
that  could  not  be  changed  when  a  majority  of  the  people 
wished  it,  would  be  like  a  house  too  small  for  a  growing 
family.  To  giv^  opportunity  for  the  people  to  change  their 
constitution,  the  revised  State  constitution  of  1894  provides 
that,  beginning  with  the  year  1916,  and  every  twenty  years 
afterwards,  and  also  at  such  other  times  as  the  legislature 
shall  direct,  there  shall  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the 
State  this  question,  "  Shall  there  be  a  convention  to  revise 
the  constitution  and  amend  the  same  ?  "  The  constitution 
may  also  be  amended  by  any  two  consecutive  State  legis- 
latures, agreeing  by  majority  vote  of  all  the  members  of 
each  house  of  both  legislatures,  to  any  proposed  amend- 
ment, and  then  submitting  it  to  the  voters  of  the  State  for 
their  adoption  or  rejection.  If  a  majority  of  those  voting  vote 
"  yes  "  on  ^proposed  amendment  it  becomes  the  law,  other- 
wise it  is  rejected. 

SUMMARY. 

The  constitution,  adopted  by  the  voters  of  the  State,  is  its 
fundamental  law.  The  legislature  may  pass  no  law  not  in 
accord  with  the  constitution  ;  and  no  law  is  superior  to  the 
State  constitution,  except  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States. 

The  idea  of  the  written  State  constitution  may  be  traced 
in  the  written  charters  of  cities.     Magna  Charta  is  spoken 


THE   STATE   CONSTITUTION.  121 

of  as  a  part  of  the  English  constitution.  Most  of  the 
British  colonies  in  America  had  some  form  of  written 
charter  as  an  outline  of  government.  During  the  revolu- 
tionary  war  these  colonial  charters  were  changed  into  State 
constitutions. 

New  York's  constitution  contains  a  summary  of  the  per- 
sonal rights  possessed  by  the  people  of  the  State,  and  lays 
down  the  form  and  framework  of  the  State  government. 

The  constitution  may  be  revised  and  amended  by  a  con- 
vention  elected  by  the  people  for  that  purpose,  which  must 
afterwards  submit  its  work  to  the  voters  of  the  State  ;  or  two 
successive  legislatures  may  submit  any  amendment  to  the 
voters. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  is  meant  by  the  State  constitution  ?  How  does  it 
differ  from  other  State  laws  ? 

Describe  in  outline  the  various  parts  of  the  constitution  of 
New  York  State,  What  is  meant  by  the  "  bill  of  rights," 
as  contained  in  the  constitution  ? 

Trace  the  beginnings  of  the  idea  of  the  written  constitu- 
tion, in  (i)  the  ancient  city  charter,  (2)  Magna  Charta,  (3) 
"Het  Groote  Priviligie,"  (4)  the  charters  of  the  early 
American  colonies. 

Describe  the  formation  of  the  Fundamental  Orders  of  Con- 
necticut. 

What  law-making  bodies  were  estabhshed  by  the  New 
York  State  constitution  of  1777  ? 

Name  a  provision  of  the  State  constitution  that  in- 
dicates a  distrust,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  of  the  State 
legislature. 

When  was  our  State  constitution  last  revised  ?     By  what 


122  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

body  ?     Under  what  authority  ?     How  did  the  revised  draft 
finally  become  law  ? 

Decribe  the  usual  manner  of  amending  the  constitution. 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

Read  Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People,  Chapter  III., 
Sections  II.  and  III.,  for  an  account  of  the  origin  and  signing  of  Magna 
Charta.  Read  the  same  work.  Chapter  IV..  Section  IV.,  "  The  Eng- 
lish Towns,"  for  the  growth  and  development  of  charter  government 
in  English  cities.  For  an  account  of  charter  government  in  the 
American  colonies,  see  Schouler's  Constitutional  Studies,  Part  I., 
Chapter  II.,  "The  Colonial  Governments."  For  an  account  of  the 
transition  from  colonialto  State  government,  see  Woodrow  Wilson's 
The  State,  sections  1050  to  1065.  On  the  nature,  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  American  State  constitutions,  read  Bryce's  American 
Commonwealth,  Vol.  I.,  Chapters  XXXVII.  and  XXXVIII. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Personal  Rights. 

Our  forefathers  went  into  the  war  of  the  revolution  to 
defend  their  personal  rights.  They  did  not  want  independ- 
ence from  Great  Britain,  so  much  as  they  wanted  the  right 
to  make  an  honest  living  as  British  subjects  on  American 
soil.  They  did  not  want  to  be  hampered  by  laws  prohibit- 
ing them  from  making  horseshoe  nails,  or  from  building 
vessels  in  which  to  carry  their  produce  to  market.  They 
wished  to  be  allowed  to  trade  with  their  neighbors,  or 
wherever  they  could  get  the  most  money  for  their  goods, 
and  they  did  net  want  to  be  forced  to  pay  taxes  which  they 
had  no  part  in  assessing  or  collecting,  and  in  the  spending 
of  which  they  had  no  voice. 

When  the  First  Continental  Congress  met  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1774,  its  members  drew  up  a  petition  to  Parliament  and 
king  in  which  they  said :  "  Permit  us  (in  America)  to  be  as 
free  as  yourselves,  and  we  shall  ever  esteem  a  union  with 
you  to  be  our  greatest  glory  and  our  greatest  happiness." 
The  British  home  government  rejected  this  appeal  for  free- 
dom, and  left  the  men  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  other  colonies,  no  choice  but  submission  or 
resistance  by  arms. 

When  the  people  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  in  1776,  de- 
clared  Iheir  independence  of  Great  Britain,  and  began  to  set 
up  State  governments  of  their  own,  naturally  the  first  thing 
they  wished  to  make  sure  of  was  the  preservation  of  their 

123 


124  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 

personal  rights.  Accordingly  we  find  standing  first  in  nearly 
all  the  State  constitutions  adopted  during  the  revolution- 
ary war,  declarations  of  rights — rights  which  may  never  be 
abridged  or  taken  away  from  the  people. 

Declarations  of  Personal  Rights  in  Early  State  Consti- 
tutions.— Such  a  declaration  of  rights,  placed  at  the  head 
of  a  newly-made  State  constitution,  was  usually  known  as  a 
"  bill  of  rights  " ;  and  these  included  nearly  every  impor- 
tant personal  right  known  to  our  liberty-loving  ancestors. 
Thus,  the  "  bill  of  rights  "  at  the  head  of  Virginia's  new 
constitution,  declared  all  political  power  to  be  vested  in  and 
derived  from  the  people,  and  that  the  magistrates  and  pub- 
lic officers  are  the  people's  trustees  and  servants ;  the  Penn- 
sylvania  "  bill "  that  all  freemen  have  a  right  to  elect  or  to 
be  elected  public  officers ;  the  Massachusetts  "  bill "  that  if 
private  property  is  taken  for  public  purposes  it  must  be 
upon  reasonable  compensation;  and  the  North  Carolina 
*'  bill "  that  every  person  has  an  inalienable  right  to  worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience. 

Called  "  Bills  of  Rights  "  from  the  English  Bill  of  Rights 
of  1689. — It  is  probable  that  these  declarations  of  rights  in 
the  newly-made  constitutions,  were  called  "  bills  of  rights," 
in  imitation  of  the  great  Declaration  of  Right,  drawn  up  by 
the  English  Parliament  in  1689,  after  the  tyrannical  James 
had  been  driven  from  England;  this  was  presented  to 
William  and  Mary,  and  accepted  by  them  before  Parliament 
would  allow  them  to  take  the  throne ;  and  afterwards  it  was 
enacted  into  law  under  the  title  of  the  "  Bill  of  Rights." 
Like  Magna  Charta,  the  Bill  of  Rights  of  1689,  is  often 
spoken  of  as  being  a  part  of  the  English  constitution. 

The  "  Bill  of  Rights  "  in  the  New  York  State  Constitu- 
tion.— New  York's  constitution,  adopted  in  1777,  did  not  at 


PERSONAL   RIGHTS.  125 

first  contain  a  formal  "  bill  of  rights,"  although  it  embodied 
the  utterances  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  in- 
cluded an  endorsement  of  the  Dutch  principle  of  freedom  in 
matters  of  religion.  Before  the  close  of  'the  revolutionary- 
war,  however,  a  formal  declaration  of  rights  was  placed  in 
our  State  constitution. 

Looking  at  the  constitution,  as  adopted  by  the  voters 
after  the  last  revision,  in  1894,  we  find  standing  first,  and 
before  its  various  numbered  sections  this  preamble : 

"  We,  the  people  of  the  State  of  New  York,  grateful  to 
Almighty  God  for  our  freedom,  in  order  to  secure  its  bless- 
vigs  do  establish  this  constitution^ 

There  is  here  condensed  in  twenty-five  words  the  history 
of  the  authority  for  our  State  government.  Following  the 
preamble  is  Article  I.  of  the  constitution,  composed  of 
eighteen  sections,  being  the  New  York  "  bill  of  rights." 

Arbitrary  Power  Not  to  be  Exercised. — Article  I.,  Sec- 
tion I  of  the  State  constitution  reads :  "  No  member  of  the 
State  shall  be  disfranchised  or  deprived  of  any  of  the  rights 
or  privileges  secured  to  any  citizen  thereof,  unless  by  the 
law  of  the  land  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers."  What  does 
this  mean  ?  In  plain  words  it  means  that  no  person  of  the 
State,  however  poor  or  humble,  may,  without  just  cause,  as 
decided  in  a  trial  before  a  court  of  law,  be  deprived  of  his 
right  to  vote,  of  any  money  or  property  belonging  to  him, 
or  of  any  other  lawful  right ;  that  if  he  loses  any  of  his 
rights,  it  must  be  in  consequence  of  crime,  of  which  he  has 
been  found  guilty  by  due  process  of  law. 

To  understand  fully  this  section  of  the  constitution,  we 
must  go  back  to  the  time  when  the  English  barons  met 
King  John  at  Runnymede  and  forced  him  to  sign  the  Great 
Charter.     In  that  charter  there  is  a  famous  promise  made 


126  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEIV   YORK. 

by  the  king  which  reads  :  "  No  freeman  shall  be  seized,  or 
imprisoned,  or  dispossessed,  or  outlawed,  or  in  any  way 
brought  to  ruin,  save  by  the  law  of  the  land  ^  and  the  legal 
judgment  of  his  peers."  John,  we  remember,  had  taken  the 
lives  and  property  of  his  subjects  for  his  own  selfish  pur- 
poses. He  had  imprisoned  men  without  trial  or  authority 
of  the  law,  and  had  tortured  them  to  make  them  give  up 
their  possessions.  In  this  clause  of  Magna  Charta  he 
promised  to  stop  such  abuses.  Section  i  of  Article  I.  of 
our  State  constitution,  is  this  famous  promise  of  Magna 
Charta  applied  to  modern  conditions. 

Trial  by  Jury. — Section  2  of  Article  I.  of  the  State  con- 
stitution reads  :  "  The  right  of  trial  by  jury  in  all  cases  in 
which  it  has  heretofore  been  used  shall  remain  inviolate 
forever."  This  fixes  more  firmly  the  guaranty  against 
arbitrary  power  given  by  Section  i.  Trial  by  jury  is  a  part 
of  "the  law  of  the  land,"  or  due  process  of  law,  by  which 
the  guilt  or  innocence  of  a  person  accused  of  crime  is  to  be 
determined.  It  gives  an  accused  person  the  right  to  de- 
mand that  a  jury  of  twelve  impartial  men  ^  shall  examine  in 
open  court  the  proofs  of  his  innocence  or  guilt,  and  that 
only  after  the  twelve  have  decided  him  guilty,  is  he  to  be 
punished.     The  jury  is  also  used  in  determining  the  truth 

i"The  words  'by  the  law  of  the  land,*  as  used  in  Magna  Charta,  are 
understood  to  mean  due  process  of  law ; — that  is,  by  indictment  or  present- 
ment of  good  and  lawful  men ;  and  this,  says  Lord  Coke,  is  the  true  sense 
and  exposition  of  the  words." — Kenfs  Commentaries.  "  By  *  the  law  of  the 
land 'is  most  clearly  intended  the  general  law — a  law  that  hears  before  it 
condemns,  which  proceeds  upon  inquiry,  and  renders  judgment  only  upon 
trial.  The  meaning  is  that  every  citizen  shall  hold  his  life,  liberty  and  prop- 
erty and  immunities,  under  the  protection  of  the  general  rules  which  govern 
society." — Webster  in  the  Dartmouth  College  Case. 

'  The  jury  in  the  court  of  the  justice  of  the  peace  consists  of  six  men. 


PERSONAL   RIGHTS.  I27 

in  private  disputes,  wherein  one  person  sues  another  in  a 
court  of  law.  This  right  to  a  trial  by  a  jury  of  twelve  men 
is  a  very  old  one,  and  its  beginning  may  be  traced  in  a 
number  of  early  English  customs.  When,  in  1066,  William 
the  Conqueror  crossed  the  channel,  defeating  the  English  at 
the  battle  of  Senlac,  he  ordered  a  census  of  their  houses, 
lands  and  cattle  to  be  taken.  For  this  purpose  he  ordered 
that  twelve  men  in  each  neighborhood  should  give  him  the 
facts,  swearing  to  their  truth.  This  was  termed  ascertaining 
the  facts  "  by  inquest."  ^  It  had  long  been  a  custom  of  the 
English  people  to  settle  disputes  in  folk  meeting,  where  the 
freemen  of  the  hundred  or  shire  gathered  in  hundred-court 
or  county-court  to  discuss  and  decide  the  public  business. 
At  such  meetings,  both  the  person  complaining  and  the 
person  defending  himself,  after  swearing  each  to  his  side  of 
the  matter,  would,  if  possible,  get  twelve  friends  or  neigh- 
bors to  swear  that  they  believed  him  to  be  a  truthful  man. 
It  finally  became  a  custom,  about  the  time  of  King  Henry 
II.,  to  have  the  facts  in  all  such  disputes  left  to  an  impartial 
jury  of  twelve  men,  who  were  to  ascertain  the  truth.  Thus 
arose  the  legal  right  of  trial  by  jury. 

The  Right  of  Freedom  of  Conscience  and  Worship. — 
Section  3  of  Article  I.  of  our  State  constitution  guarantees 
"  the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious  profession  and 
worship  without  discrimination  or  preference,"  forever  to 
every  person  in  the  State ;  and  declares  that  "  no  person 
shall  be  rendered  incompetent  as  a  witness  on  account  of  his 
opinion  in  matters  of  religious  belief."  Thus,  Catholic, 
Protestant,  Jew,  and  Agnostic,  stand  on  an  equal  footing 
under  the  law  of  New  York.  All  have  equal  rights  ;  all  may 
vote  or  hold  office.     None  is  denied  any  public  privilege. 

*  Hence,  possibly,  the  origin  of  the  term  "  Coioner's  Inquest," 


128  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

But  this  liberty  of  conscience  granted  by  the  constitution, 
may  not  be  construed  to  protect  vicious  or  immoral  practices 
carried  on  in  the  name  of  religion. 

The  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus.^—Section  4  of  Article  I.  of 
the  State  constitution  preserves  to  the  people  of  New  York 
the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  and  declares  that  this  privilege 
shall  not  be  suspended  "  unless  when  in  case  of  rebellion  or 
invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  its  suspension."  The 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  is  an  order  that  may  be  obtained  from 
a  judge  by  the  relatives  or  friends  of  a  prisoner,  command- 
ing those  restraining  him  to  bring  him  into  court,  that  it 
may  be  lawfully  decided  whether  or  not  he  is  justly  and 
legally  restrained.  The  right  to  this  writ  or  order  is  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  highly-prized  rights  of  the  English- 
speaking  people.  It  is  based  on  the  famous  promise  of  John 
in  Magna  Charta,  that  no  freeman  shall  be  taken,  or  im- 
prisoned, but  by  the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers.^  The 
right  to  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  applies  in  all  cases  where 
a  person  is  believed  to  be  unlawfully  restrained. 

Excessive  Bail  Shall  Not  be  Required,  Nor  Cruel  Pun- 
ishments be  Inflicted. — Section  5  of  Article  I.  of  the  State 
constitution  reads  :  "  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required 
nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  shall  cruel  and  unusual 
punishments  be  inflicted,  nor  shall  witnesses  be  unreasonably 
detained."  As  we  shall  see  in  another  chapter,^  when  a 
person  is  arrested  and  accused  of  crime,  instead  of  being  put 

*  Habeas  corpus,  from  the  Latin,  habeo,  to  hold ;  and  corpus,  the  body. 

'  Another  clause  in  Magna  Charta  reads :  "  Nothing  from  henceforth 
shall  be  given  or  taken  for  a  writ  of  inquisition  of  life  or  limb,  but  it  shall  be 
granted  freely,  and  not  denied."  «« This  important  writ,"  says  Mr.  John 
Fiske,  "  may  have  been  the  prototype  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  was 
granted  for  a  similar  purpose," 

3  Chapter  XVI.,  "  How  Criminals  are  Brought  to  Justice." 


PERSONAL  RIGHTS.  129 

at  once  into  jail  to  await  his  trial,  he  is  sometimes  allowed  to 
go  free,  on  giving  a  pledge  that  he  will  appear  in  court  to  be 
tried  at  a  future  time.  Giving  such  a  pledge  is  called 
"  giving  bail,"  and  this  section  of  the  constitution  means 
that  a  court  or  judge  cannot  require  a  pledge  so  large  that 
an  accused  person  may  not  take  advantage  of  this  right. 
All  of  Section  5,  except  the  part  referring  to  witnesses,  is 
taken  word  for  wordirom  the  Bill  of  Rights  of  1689. 

Other  Rights  of  Accused  Persons. — Section  6,  of  Arti- 
cle  I.,  gives  a  person  accused  of  crime  the  right  to  have  the 
matter  examined  by  a  grand  jury,^  and  the  further  right  of 
a  public  trial,  at  which  the  accused  person  is  allowed  to  have 
a  lawyer  to  defend  him.  It  also  says :  "  No  person  shall 
be  subject  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  for  the  same  offense ; 
nor  shall  he  be  compelled  to  be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor 
be  deprived  of  hfe,  liberty  or  property  without  due  process 
of  law ;  2  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use 
without  just  compensation." 

Private    Rights,  and    the  State's  Right  of   Eminent 

Domain As  will  be  seen  from  the  last  section,  the  law 

gives  the  people  of  the  State  the  right  to  take  private  prop- 
erty for  public  purposes.  This  right  is  called  the  right  of 
eminent  domain.     Under  it  the  State  can  compel  a  man  to 

» See  Chapter  XVI.,  "  How  Criminals  Are  Brought  to  Justice." 
'  "  It,  (the  phrase,  *  due  process  of  law  ')  has  long  been  in  use  among  law 
writers  and  judicial  decisions  as  implying  correct  and  orderly  proceedings, 
which  are  due  because  they  preserv*  all  the  securities  for  private  rights  which 
are  applicable  to  the  particular  case.  In  this  sense  it  is  synonymous  with 
Maw  of  the  land,'  as  used  in  the  famous  thirty-ninth  chapter  of  Magna 
Charta,  which  declared  that  no  *  freeman  shall  be  taken,  or  imprisoned,  or 
disseized  or  outlawed,  or  banished,  or  otherwise  destroyed,  nor  will  the  king 
pass  upon  him  or  commit  him  to  prison  unless  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers  or 
**  the  law  of  the  land,"  '  The  identity  of  the  two  in  meaning  and  purpose  is 
now  well  settled." — Cooley,  Principles  of  Constitutional  Law. 


I30  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

give  up  his  house  and  land,  if  the  premises  are  needed  for  a 
pubHc  institution,  such  as  a  schoolhouse,  hospital,  or  park. 
Under  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  we  see  that  the  in- 
dividual holds  his  property  subject  to  the  greater  right  of 
the  people  of  the  State;  but  the  individual  thus  compelled 
to  yield  his  private  rights,  is  under  the  constitution,  entitled 
to  just  and  reasonable  compensation. 

The  Right  of  Freedom  of  Speech. — Section  8,  of  Article 
I.  reads  :  "  Every  citizen  may  freely  speak,  write  and  pub- 
lish his  sentiments  on  all  subjects,  being  responsible  for  the 
abuse  of  that  right ;  and  no  law  shall  be  passed  to  restrain 
or  abridge  the  liberty  of  speech  or  of  the  press."  In  prosecu- 
tions for  libel  the  truth  may  be  given  in  evidence.  These 
are  rights  fully  enjoyed  in  but  few  countries  outside  the 
United  States. 

Freedom  of  Petition. — Section  9,  of  Article  I.  declares 
that  "  no  law  shall  be  passed  abridging  the  right  of  the  peo- 
ple peaceably  to  assemble  and  to  petition  the  government  or 
any  department  thereof."  This  right  has  its  origin  in  the 
English  Bill  of  Rights  of  1689,  in  which  it  was  declared 
**  that  it  is  the  right  of  subjects  to  petition  the  king  and  all 
commitments  and  prosecutions  for  such  petitions  are  illegal." 

Rights  in  Land. — Other  sections  of  Article  I.  declare 
that  the  people  of  the  State  possess  the  original  and  ulti- 
mate ownership  of  the  land  of  the  State ;  and  that  any  land 
losing  its  private  owner  must  j;evert  to  the  State.  Every 
private  owner  of  land  is  given  full  right  to  sell  or  dispose  of 
it,  except  that  agricultural  lands  may  not  be  leased  for  a 
longer  period  than  twelve  years.  No  one  may  buy  land 
from  the  Indians  without  consent  of  the  legislature ;  and  no 
alien  may  own  land  in  New  York  without  formally  declar- 
ing his  intention  of  becoming  a  citizen. 


PERSONAL   RIGHTS.  131 

English  Common  Law  and  the  Battle  of  Lexington. — 
Section  16,  of  Article  I.  declares  that  all  parts  of  the  com- 
mon  law  of  England,^  not  repugnant  to  the  State  constitu- 
tion, which  were  in  force  in  the  colony  of  New  York  on 
April  19,  1775,  shall  remain  as  a  part  of  the  law  of  the 
State.  This  is  the  date  of  the  famous  battle  of  Lexing. 
ton,  in  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  the  revolution.  After 
that  assault  upon  American  liberty,  the  people  of  New  York 
no  longer  considered  themselves  as  living  under  the  laws  of 
Great  Britain. 

Civil  and  Political  Rights.— The  personal  rights  above 
described,  as  guaranteed  to  the  people  of  New  York  by  the 
State  constitution,  are  known  as  civil  rights,  to  distinguish 
them  from  other  rights  known  as  political  rights.  Civil 
rights  belong  equally  to  every  man,  woman  and  child  of  the 
State,  while  political  rights  are  more  in  the  nature  of  special 
privileges  given  to  certain  classes  of  people.  Thus  the 
right  to  vote  is  a  political  right,  and  is  given  generally  to 
male  citizens,  twenty-one  years  old  and  over;  while  the 
rights  of  freedom  of  speech,  liberty  of  the  person,  personal 
security,  freedom  of  conscience,  and  the  right  to  hold  prop- 
erty,  are  civil  rights,  belonging  equally  to  all  members  of 
the  State,  whether  men  or  women. 

Criminals  May  Lose  Their  Personal  Rights. — A  mem- 
ber of  the  State  loses  his  political  rights,  such  as  the  right  to 
vote  and  to  otherwise  take  part  in  the  government  of  the 
State,  on  being  convicted  of  a  felony ;  and  he  cannot  there- 
after exercise  these  rights,  unless  restored  to  citizenship  by 
the  governor.  This  is  not  the  case,  however,  as  regards  the 
civil  rights  of  a  convicted  criminal.  He  is  still  entitled, 
after  serving  the  sentence  imposed  for  his  crime,  to  the  pro- 

1  See  "  Sources  of  State  Law,"  Chapter  XXV. 


132  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

tection  of  the  State  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  Hfe,  Hberty,  and 
property;  but  a  person  condemned  to  prison /(?r /^<?  loses 
all  property  rights,  and  is  regarded  by  the  State  as  legally 
dead. 

SUMMARY. 

Article  I.  of  our  State  constitution,  known  as  the  "  Bill  of 
Rights,"  guarantees  the  free  exercise  of  many  personal 
rights  to  the  people  of  the  State. 

Among  the  personal  rights  so  guaranteed  are  freedom 
of  the  person,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  freedom  of 
conscience  in  religious  matters,  the  right  to  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  reasonable  bails  and  fines,  humane  legal  pun- 
ishments, reasonable  compensation  for  private  property 
taken  for  public  uses,  freedom  of  speech,  and  freedom  to 
petition  the  government. 

Many  of  these  personal  rights  are  inheritances  from 
Magna  Charta,  the  English  Bill  of  Rights  of  1689,  and 
customs  of  our  English  and  Dutch  ancestors. 

These  personal  rights  belong  equally  to  all  the  people  of 
the  State,  and  are  known  as  civil  rights.  They  are  distin- 
guished from  political  rights,  which  are  given  only  to  certain 
classes  of  citizens. 

Criminals  may  lose  both  their  civil  and  political  rights. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  is  the  origin  of  the  expression,  "  bill  of  rights  "  ? 

In  what  part  of  our  State  constitution  do  we  find  the 
"  bill  of  rights  "  ? 

What  does  the  constitution  mean  when  it  says  that  no 
member  of  the  State  shall  be  deprived  of  his  rights  "  unless 
by  the  law  of  the  land,  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers  "  ? 


PERSONAL   RIGHTS, 


m 


Describe  the  duties  of  a  trial  jury. 

What  provision  in  the  State  constitution  guarantees  free- 
dom of  conscience  ? 

What  is  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  ?  How  is  it  obtained  ? 
For  what  purpose  ? 

What  is  bail  ?  What  provision  of  the  constitution  guar- 
antees the  right  of  bail  ? 

Name  three  legal  rights  of  a  person  accused  of  crime. 

Describe  the  right  of  eminent  domain.  For  what  pur- 
pose may  it  be  used  ? 

What  is  meant  by  "  freedom  of  petition  "  ? 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  civil  right  and  a  politi- 
cal right  ?  Have  all  citizens  equal  political  rights  ?  Have 
they  equal  civil  rights  ?  How  may  a  citizen  lose  his  civil 
and  political  rights  ? 


CHAPTER  Xn. 
The  Right  to  Vote. 

As  we  walk  the  streets  of  a  city  or  village  in  New  York 
on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  November, 
we  see  here  and  there  groups  of  men  gathered  in  front  of 
certain  buildings  designated  as  "  polling  places."  Some  are 
hurrying  into  the  polling  places,  or  standing  in  Une  waiting 
for  their  turn  to  go  in  and  vote.  Others,  having  cast  their 
ballots,  are  coming  out.  A  policeman,  with  club  and  badge, 
stands  near — the  visible  symbol  of  the  law.  Men  of  every 
class — rich  and  poor,  the  merchant  prince  and  the  day 
laborer,  the  hard-working  farmer  and  mechanic,  and  the  idle 
fellow — all  gather  at  the  polling  places  on  election  day. 

What  is  it  all  about  ?  Why  is  this  voting  going  on  ? 
Because  this  is  the  manner  in  which  the  people  of  the  State 
of  New  York  engage  in  the  business  of  self-government. 
Every  man,  as  he  puts  his  ballot  into  the  box  on  election 
day,  is  for  the  time  being  a  part  of  the  government,  as  much 
as  the  sheriff  who  arrests  a  criminal,  or  the  judge  who 
sentences  him  from  the  bench.  On  election  day  the  voter 
helps  to  choose  public  officers  to  do  the  public  work.  At 
the  polling  place  he  says,  "  yes "  or  "  no,"  to  a  proposed 
State  constitution.  Here  he  votes  for  legislators  to  make 
the  laws,  a  governor  to  enforce  the  laws,  and  judges  to  in- 
terpret the  laws  and  to  apply  them  in  particular  cases. 
The  individual  voter,  as  he  casts  his  ballot,  is  thus  the 
fundamental  governing  power  in  the  State. 
134 


THE  RIGHT  TO    VOTE,  135 

Who  May  Vote. — The  New  York  State  constitution 
says :  ^  "  Every  male ^  citizen  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
who  shall  have  been  a  citizen  for  ninety  days,  and  an  in- 
habitant of  this  State  one  year  next  preceding  an  election, 
and  for  the  last  four  months  a  resident  of  the  county,  and 
for  the  last  thirty  days  a  resident  of  the  election  district  in 
which  he  may  offer  his  vote,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such 
election  in  the  election  district  of  which  he  shall  at  the  time 
be  a  resident,  and  not  elsewhere,  for  all  officers  that  now  are 
or  hereafter  may  be  elective  by  the  people,  and  upon  all 
questions  which  may  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people." 
An  exception  to  this  is  made  in  favor  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
in  time  of  war.  They  may  vote,  though  they  may  not  at 
the  time  of  voting  be  in  their  home  election  districts,  and 
their  ballots  will  be  counted  as  if  cast  in  the  home  districts. 

Who  Are  Citizens. — Who  are  citizens,  and  what  is  the 
citizenship  that  gives  a  man  the  right  to  vote  in  New  York  ? 
First,  citizenship  is  a  national  rather  than  a  State  affair. 
A  person  must  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  in  order  to 
be  a  citizen  of  his  State.  "  All  persons  born  or  naturalized 
in  the  United  States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof, 
are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein 
they  reside,"  reads  the  fourteenth  amendment  of  the  United 
States  constitution.  A  law  of  the  United  States  ^  also  de- 
clares that  all  persons  born  out  of  the  country  but  of  citizen 
parents  are  citizens.  Citizenship,  for  purposes  of  voting  in 
New  York  State,  implies  therefore  : 

I.     That  the  voter  must  have  been  born  in  the  United 

>  Article  II.,  Section  i. 

*By  State  law  of  1901,  women  taxpayers  are  allowed  to  vote  in  town  and 
village  elections  on  propositions  involving  the  spending  of  the  public  money. 
'United  States  Revised  Statutes  2d  ed.,  Section  1993,  Title  25. 


136  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

States,   and   that  he   is  not  the  subject  of   another  na- 
tion; or 

2.  That,  if  born  out  of  the  United  States,  he  is  the  child 
of  parents  who  are  citizens ;  or 

3.  That,  though  born  in  another  country,  he  has  been 
naturalized  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Some  States  allow  immigrant  residents,  who  have  de- 
clared their  intention  of  becoming  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  to  vote;  but  in  New  York  only  the  full-fledged 
male  citizen,  twenty-one  years  of  age  or  over,  may  vote  at 
the  general  elections.  The  State  confers  the  right  to  vote 
and  fixes  the  qualifications  of  the  voter  in  all  elections. 

How  an  Alien  ^  May  Become  a  Citizen. — A  foreigner 
who  can  speak  English  may  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  thus  a  citizen  of  New  York  State,  by : 

1.  Living  five  years  continuously  in  the  United  States, 
and  one  year  in  the  State  where  naturalization  is  sought ; 

2.  Making  oath  before  a  court  of  record  ^  at  least 
two  years  before  his  admission  to  citizenship,  that  it  is 
his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  and  to  renounce  forever 
his  allegiance  to  any  foreign  state  or  ruler,  and  to  re- 
nounce any  foreign  titles  or  orders  of  nobility  he  may 
hold; 

3.  Making  a  formal  petition,  in  due  form  ;  and 

4.  Taking  an  oath  to  support  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

The  court  must  also  be  satisfied,  by  the  evidence  of 
the  applicant  and  of  two  witnesses,  that  the  applicant  for 
citizenship  has  during  the  year  before  he  takes  this  oath 

1  An  alien  is  a  person  born  in  a  foreign  country  and  not  a  subject  of  the 
United  States. 

2  A  court  which  has  a  clerk  and  an  official  seal. 


THE  RIGHT  TO    VOTE.  137 

behaved  as  "  a  man  of  good  moral  character,"  attached  to 
the  principles  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  well  disposed  towards  the  good  order  and  happiness  of 
the  same.^ 

Some  Exceptions  to  the  Rule. — An  alien,  over  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  who  has  been  honorably  discharged  from 
the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States,  may  take  the  oath 
admitting  to  citizenship,  without  any  previous  declaration  of 
his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  if  he  has  lived  a  year  in 
the  United  States  and  is  a  person  of  good  moral  character ; 
it  being  thought  that  a  man  willing  to  fight  for  the  country 
is  entitled  to  the  rights  of  a  citizen  of  the  country.  Minor 
children  of  naturalized  parents,  living  in  the  United  States, 
are  considered  as  citizens ;  and  the  naturalization  of  a  hus- 
band makes  his  wife  a  citizen ;  but  New  York  does  not 
allow  a  woman  citizen  to  vote  except  at  school  district  elec- 
tion s.^  Indians  not  taxed  and  Chinese  are  excluded  from 
citizenship ;  and  idiots,  lunatics,  and  criminals  sentenced  to 
State  prison,  are  not  allowed  to  vote. 

The  people  of  New  York  seem  to  have  a  growing  feeling 
of  the  importance  and  value  of  citizenship  in  the  State,  and 
desire  only  the  best  people  from  foreign  lands  to  become 
citizens  here ;  so  in  order  to  prevent  the  hurried  naturaliza- 
tion of  unfit  persons  on  the  eve  of  election,  the  people  placed 
in  the  constitution  of  1894  the  rule  that  a  man  must  be  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  for  at  least  ninety  days  before 
being  allowed  to  vote.  Thus  a  naturalized  citizen  who  has 
not  been  naturalized  at  least  ninety  days  before  an  election, 
may  not  vote  at  that  election. 

>  United  States  Revised  Statutes,  2d  ed..  Section  2165,  Title  30. 
2  See  note,  "Voters  at  School  District  Meetings,"  Chapter  XVIIL,  "  The 
Public  Schools;  "  also  note,  page  135. 


138  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

Citizens  May  Lose  the  Right  to  Vote. — A  man  convicted 
of  bribery  or  of  desertion  from  the  army  or  navy  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  an  infamous  crime  punishable  in  a 
State  prison,  loses  the  right  to  vote,  unless  afterwards  re- 
stored  to  citizenship.  A  person  convicted  of  accepting 
money  or  any  other  bribe  for  voting,  loses  the  right  to  vote 
for  five  years.  A  person  who  bets  on  the  results  of  an 
election  is  also  disqualified  for  voting  at  that  election ;  and 
no  person  may  vote  at  a  general,  special,  or  city  election  in 
New  York,  unless  he  has  registered  his  name  and  address 
with  the  election  officers  at  least  ten  days  before  the  elec- 
tion. This  helps  to  prevent  fraudulent  voting,  by  giving  the 
officials  and  others  interested,  an  opportunity  to  look  up  the 
person  registering  and  to  find  out  if  he  be  entitled  to  vote. 
This  rule  requiring  registration  does  not  apply  in  town 
elections,  or  in  villages  having  a  population  of  5,000  or  less, 
except  by  special  law  of  the  State;  it  being  supposed  that 
in  such  small  places  every  voter  is  known,  and  that  oppor- 
tunities for  illegal  voting  are  consequently  small. 

In  School  District  Meetings. — In  the  school  district  elec- 
tions  held  in  the  country  districts  of  the  State,  the  men  and 
women  of  the  district,  who  are  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  full  age,  and  who  own  or  rent  houses  or  lands  in  the 
district,  or  who  pay  taxes  on  personal  property  of  the  value 
of  fifty  dollars  in  the  district,  or  who  have  living  with  them 
children  who  have  attended  the  district  school  for  at  least 
eight  weeks  during  the  year,  meet  and  vote  much  as  in  the 
town  meeting.  The  women  join  with  the  men  in  electing 
school  officers  and  in  determining  the  amount  of  money  to 
be  raised  and  expended  for  school  purposes. 

Voting  a  Political  Right. — The  right  to  vote  is  a  political 
right  rather  than  a  civil  right.     That  is,  the  right  to  vote  is 


THE  RIGHT  TO    VOTE.  I39 

not  a  right  inherent  in  a  citizen  of  a  State,  like  the  right  of 
freedom  of  speech,  or  of  Hberty  of  conscience ;  but  it  is  a 
privilege  to  participate  in  the  government,  conferred  upon  a 
certain  class  deemed  competent  to  exercise  it.  Thus  while 
the  constitution  guarantees  to  all  persons  in  the  State — men, 
women  and  children — the  exercise  of  the  civil  right  of  free 
speech,  it  limits  the  general  political  right  of  voting  to  cer- 
tain male  citizens,  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over.  A 
State  has  power  to  restrict  or  extend  the  right  to  vote  ;  but 
the  United  States  constitution,  Amendment  XV.,  forbids 
any  State  to  abridge  or  deny  the  right  of  any  citizen  to 
vote  "  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude." 

Voting  a  Duty. — No  man  enjoying  the  protection  of  the 
laws,  and  wishing  to  see  them  faithfully  executed,  and  the 
public  business  properly  performed,  should  fail  to  exercise 
his  right  to  vote ;  for  constitutions  and  statutes  avail  but 
little  in  the  ordinary  management  of  public  affairs,  unless 
they  have  back  of  them  honest,  faithful,  and  efficient  public 
officers.  How  the  people  of  New  York  vote,  and  the 
manner  of  choosing  public  officers,  are  described  in  detail  in 
Chapter  XX.,  "The  Conduct  of  Public  Elections." 

History  of  the  Suffrage. — At  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  the  male  landowners,  as  a  rule,  constituted 
the  voters.  Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  citizen  suffrage 
was  substituted  for  landowners'  suffrage.  In  1870  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment  forced  negro  suffrage  upon  the 
States.  Later  the  privilege  of  voting  gradually  assumed 
a  position  of  more  importance.  The  States  of  Connecti- 
cut, Massachusetts,  Maine,  Delaware,  California,  and 
Wyoming  require  the  citizen  to  be  able  to  read  and  write 
before  allowing  him  to  vote.     Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Ala- 


I40  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

bama,  and  the  Carolinas  have  adopted  provisions  which 
WDrk  to  exclude  negro  iUiterates  from  the  suffrage,  but  by 
indirect  methods  admit  most  native  whites.  Many  States 
allow  women  to  vote  at  school  elections.  Wyoming, 
Colorado,  Utah,  and  Idaho  have  equal  suffrage  for  both 
men  and  women. 

SUMMARY. 

The  ordinary  citizen  takes  part  in  the  government  of  his 
State  when  he  votes  at  public  elections. 

The  general  right  to  vote  in  New  York  is  confined  to 
male  citizens  of  the  United  States,  twenty-one  years  of  age 
and  over,  but  exception  is  made  in  favor  of  certain  women 
in  school-district,  town  and  village  elections. 

Aliens,  resident  for  five  years  in  the  United  States,  may 
become  citizens  on  making  formal  declaration  of  their  inten- 
tion so  to  do,  and  on  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

The  United  States  confers  citizenship,  but  the  State  con- 
fers the  right  to  vote. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

Is  the  right  to  vote  a  civil  or  a  political  right .? 

What  government  in  this  country  confers  the  right  to 
vote.'*     What  government  confers  citizenship.'' 

Mention  five  requirements  of  a  legal  voter  in  New  York 
State. 

Who  are  citizens  ? 

How  may  an  alien  obtain  citizenship  in  the  United 
States  ? 

Mention  three  ways  in  which  a  citizen  may  lose  his  vote 
at  a  particular  election. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Departments   of  State    Government — The  Legisla- 
ture. 

If  we  go  through  a  large  cotton  manufactory,  during  the 
height  of  the  busy  season,  we  see  in  one  part  of  the  factory 
huge  bales  of  cotton  fiber  brought  in  from  the  trucks,  un- 
packed and  assorted.  In  another  part  we  hear  the  roar  of 
machinery,  as  clashing  looms  and  flashing  shuttles  lengthen 
inch  by  inch  the  new-made  woof  into  good  cloth.  In 
another  department  we  see  this  cloth  in  the  process  of 
bleaching  ;  while  in  a  fourth,  busy  packers  and  shippers  are 
preparing  to  send  it  to  market.  In  still  another  part  of  the 
establishment  is  the  manager's  office,  with  its  small  army  of 
clerks  and  bookkeepers.  Each  department  has  a  different 
work  to  do,  but  all  are  working  harmoniously  for  a  common 
purpose.  As  in  the  manufactory,  so  in  the  vast  and  com- 
plicated business  known  as  the  government  of  the  State,  the 
work  is  carried  on  in  different  departments,  yet  all  with  the 
single  aim  of  service  to  the  people. 

Three  Departments  of  Government. — There  are,  as  we 
have  seen,  three  general  departments  running  through  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  the  governments  of  the 
several  States,  and  the  local  governments  of  town,  village, 
city,  and  county,  organized  under  the  government  of  the 
State.  These  are  the  Legislative,  Executive,  and  Judiciary 
Departments.  The  legislative  department  makes  the  laws. 
The    executive    department    enforces    the   laws,    and   the 

141 


142  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 

judiciary  department  interprets  the  law,  and  applies  it  in  the 
trial  of  criminals  and  civil  suits  at  law.  The  legislative  de- 
partment is  represented  in  the  State  by  the  legislature,  in 
the  county  by  the  board  of  supervisors,  in  the  town  by  the 
town  meeting,  in  the  city  by  the  common  council  or  board 
of  aldermen,  and  in  the  village  by  the  board  of  village 
trustees.  The  head  of  the  executive  department  of  the  State 
is  the  governor,  of  the  city  the  mayor,  and  of  the  village  the 
village  president.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  point  out  the  executive 
head  of  the  county  and  the  town;  for  while  the  sheriff  may 
be  the  most  important  county  executive  officer  and  the 
supervisor  the  most  important  executive  officer  of  the  town, 
neither  sheriff  nor  supervisor  can  be  said  to  be  over  or 
superior  to  the  other  county  and  town  executive  officers. 
The  judiciary  department  is  composed  of  courts  and  judges. 
Three  Departments  Not  Always  Separate  and  Dis- 
tinct.— While  the  work  of  these  three  departments  is,  as  a 
rule,  quite  separate  and  distinct,  each  department  having  its 
own  officers  usually  unconnected  with  the  other  depart- 
ments, there  are  many  public  officers  who  perform  duties  in 
more  than  a  single  department.  Thus  the  governor  of  the 
State,  while  at  the  head  of  its  executive  department,  is  an 
important  part  of  the  legislative  department,  most  bills 
before  becoming  laws  being  approved  by  him.  The  gover- 
nor also  exercises  judicial  functions  in  reviewing  the  facts  in 
cases  where  criminals  sentenced  by  the  courts  appeal  to  him 
for  pardon  or  commutation  of  their  sentences.  In  other 
countries  there  is  often  much  less  separation  of  the  three 
departments  of  government  than  in  ours.  Thus,  in  Eng- 
land, the  cabinet,  comprising  the  chief  executive  officers  of 
the  government,  is  composed  of  active  members  of  the 
British  Parliament,  the  law-making  body ;   while  in  such 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  143 

countries  as  Morocco  and  Siam  the  head  of  the  state  is  at 
once  the  chief  law-making,  law-enforcing  and  law-interpret- 
ing power. 

Development  of  the  State  Legislature. — In  our  study  of 
the  town  meeting  we  saw  the  freemen  of  the  ancient  Ger- 
man mark  gather  beneath  some  giant  oak,  parcel  out  the 
common  land,  and  decide  upon  the  rules  for  its  cultivation. 
In  the  German  tribal  assembly  we  saw  warriors  from  the 
different  villages  meet  in  field  or  forest  to  debate  questions 
of  peace  or  war.  We  heard  their  shouts  of  opposition,  or 
the  clashing  of  spears  on  shields  as  they  signified  their  as- 
sent to  some  favored  proposition.  Such  were  the  rude  be- 
ginnings of  legislation  among  our  German  ancestors. 
Later,  in  the  English  shire  meeting,  the  "  reeve  and  four 
discreet  men"  from  each  town  in  the  shire,  were  sent  to  take 
the  place  of  the  original  primary  assembly  of  freemen  now 
grown  too  large  to  handle  conveniently.  In  the  shire  meet- 
ing laws  were  thus  made  by  representatives  of  the  people, 
instead  of  directly  by  the  people,  as  in  the  mark  meeting 
and  the  town.  Our  modern  State  legislature  is  a  still 
further  extension  of  the  principle  of  law  making  by  the  peo- 
ple's representatives,  and  over  a  much  larger  territory  than 
the  English  shire. 

New  York's  Legislature. — The  State  legislature  derives 
its  authority  to  make  laws  from  the  constitution  adopted  by 
the  voters  of  the  State ;  and  it  is  composed  of  representa- 
tives chosen  by  these  voters.  It  meets  regularly  once  a 
year  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  January  at  the  State  capitol 
at  Albany.  It  comprises  two  divisions,  or  "houses" — a 
Senate  of  fifty  or  more  members  elected  biennially,  and 
an  assembly  of  1 50  members  elected  annually.  Each  house 
has  its  separate  meeting  place  or  "  chamber,"  magnificently 


144 


GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 


decorated  and  furnished  in  the  State  capitol  building.  The 
lieutenant  governor  of  the  State  is  the  presiding  officer  of 
the  senate,  but  he  does  not  vote  in  that  body  except  in  case 
of  a  tie.  The  assembly  elects  one  of  its  own  members  to 
preside  over  it.     He  is  called  **  The  Speaker,"  and  he  may 


SENATE  CHAMBER,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

vote  on  all  measures  coming  before  the  assembly.  A  ma- 
jority of  each  house  constitutes  a  quorum  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  its  ordinary  business,  and  the  members  receive  an 
annual  salary  of  ;^  1,500  each,  paid  out  of  the  State  treasury.* 

*  In  addition  travelling  expenses  of  ten  cents  a  mile  are  allowed  each  mem- 
ber, from  his  home  to  Albany  and  return,  once  during  each  session  of  the 
legislature. 


THE  LEGISLATURE,  145 

The  Legislature  and  the  People. — The  legislature,  thus 
constituted,  is  in  theory  the  servant  of  the  people,  created  by 
the  people  through  the  constitution,  and  empowered  to 
make  laws  for  the  State.  In  town  meeting  we  see  the 
voters  decide  directly,  "yes"  or  "no"  propositions  affecting 
their  interests.  In  the  legislature  we  see  representatives  of 
the  people,  chosen  by  the  voters,  deciding  for  the  people. 
Why  do  we  not  have  direct  democratic  government  in  the 
State  at  large,  as  in  the  town  meeting  ?  As  in  the  case  of 
the  English  shire  and  the  modern  American  county;  prin- 
cipally because  it  would  be  impracticable  for  all  the  voters 
of  the  State  to  meet  and  vote  directly  upon  the  complicated 
matters  involved  in  the  vast  public  business  of  the  State. 
So  the  people,  through  the  constitution,  have  provided  that 
the  State  shall  be  divided  into  senate  districts,  and  into  as- 
sembly districts,  and  the  voters  in  each  senate  district  choose 
every  two  years  a  senator,  and  the  voters  in  each  assembly 
district  every  year  an  assemblyman,  to  speak  and  act  for 
them  in  matters  of  law  making  left  to  the  State  legislature. 

Why  a  Legislature  of  Two  Houses. — ^Why  do  the  peo- 
ple choose  a  legislature  of  two  houses  with  varying  terms 
of  office  ?  Could  not  a  single  legislative  house  do  the  work 
in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  voters  ?  Yes,  and  no.  A 
single  legislative  body  chosen  to-day  may  represent  to-day 
the  views  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  upon  some  burning 
public  question.  Six  months  from  to-day  the  sober  second 
thought  of  the  majority  may  modify  or  entirely  change  its 
former  view  of  the  question  at  issue.  If  there  be  a  second 
legislative  house  elected  for  a  term  of  office  differing  from 
the  first,  the  sober  sense  of  the  mass  of  the  people  is  likely 
to  be  in  the  long  run  better  represented  than  by  a  single 
house.     Two  legislative  houses  act  as  checks  upon  each 


146  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

other,  and  tend  to  prevent  the  making  of  careless,  ill-timed 
and  hasty  laws.  It  is  also,  however,  more  difficult  to  get 
a  good  law  passed  by  two  houses  than  by  one.  A  few 
States^  began  with  a  legislature  of  a  single  house,  but 
they  soon  gave  up  the  plan.  New  York's  two-chambered 
legislature  grew  naturally  out  of  the  old  provincial  assem- 
bly, composed,  first,  of  the  governor's  council,  and  second, 
of  representatives  elected  by  the  people  of  the  counties. 

Legislatures  May  Misrepresent  the  People. — It  has  been 
said  that  the  legislature  is  in  theory  the  servant  of  the  peo- 
ple, carrying  out  in  its  acts  or  laws  the  wishes  of  the  people 
who  have  elected  it.  In  practice,  however,  a  legislator  in  a 
modern  American  State  may  be  anything  but  the  people's 
servant.  A  senator  or  assemblyman,  once  chosen,  is  under 
the  law  absolutely  independent  of  the  people  of  his  district. 
He  may  vote  against  their  interests,  and  as  long  as  he  vio- 
lates no  law  of  the  State,  the  people  have  no  relief  against 
his  ^/^-representation,  except  to  elect  another  man  in  his 
place  when  his  term  of  office  expires.  To  remedy  partially 
this  apparent  defect  in  our  present  form  of  representative 
government,  it  is  proposed  by  some  to  make  what  is  known 
as  the  Initiative  and  Referendum  a  part  of  the  State  funda- 
mental law.  Under  the  initiative  and  referendum  it  is  pro- 
posed, when  a  certain  number  of  voters  petition  for  a  law, 
that  the  legislature  shall  frame  the  proposed  law  and 
submit  it  to  a  vote  of  the  people  for  adoption  or  rejection, 
much  as  amendments  to  our  State  constitution  are  now  sub- 
mitted. The  petition  of  the  voters  for  a  proposed  law  is 
known  as  the  initiative,  and  its  submission  by  the  legislature 
to  the  voters  as  the  referendum.  Such  a  practice  would 
involve  a  considerable  extension  of  the  principle  of  direct 

>  Pennsylvania,  Georgia,  and  Vermont. 


THE  LEGISLATURE.       '  I47 

democratic  government.     The  initiative   and   referendum 
is  in  use  in  several  other  States,  and  in  Switzerland. 

The  Constitutional  Convention. — An  important  part  of 
the  State  legislative  department  is  the  constitutional  con- 
vention, elected  from  time  to  time,  by  the  people,  for  the 
purpose  of  revising  the  constitution  or  of  preparing  amend- 
ments to  it.  The  manner  of  electing  the  members  of  a  con- 
stitutional convention,  and  of  submitting  the  work  of  the 
convention  to  the  people,  has  been  described  in  a  previous 
chapter. 

SUMMARY. 

State  and  local  government  is  carried  on  in  three  depart- 
ments, legislative,  executive  and  judiciary. 

The  legislative  department  makes  laws,  the  executive 
department  enforces  the  law,  and  the  judiciary  department 
interprets  the  law  and  applies  it  in  particular  cases. 

The  legislature,  composed  of  a  senate  of  fifty  or  more 
members  and  an  assembly  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  mem- 
bers, is  the  chief  constituent  of  the  State's  legislative  de- 
partment. 

The  legislative  houses  act  as  checks  upon  each  other  to 
prevent  ill-advised  and  hasty  legislation. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

What  are  the  departments  of  State  government }  De- 
scribe generally  the  purposes  of  each. 

Describe  the  constitution  of  the  New  York  legislature. 

How  do  the  powers  of  the  speaker  differ  from  those  of 
the  lieutenant  governor,  while  presiding  over  the  senate } 

What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  legis- 
lature composed  of  two  houses  instead  of  one  ? 

What  is  meant  by  initiative  and  referendum } 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Legislature— (Continued). 

Every  ten  years  the  people  of  New  York  are  counted- 
for  the  purpose  of  apportioning  senators  and  assemblymen 
among  them.  This  count  takes  place  in  the  years  ending 
with  the  figure  5.  On  the  result  of  such  count  or  "  census," 
as  it  is  called,  are  fixed  the  boundaries  of  the  senate  and 
assembly  districts. 

Senate  Districts  and  Senators. — ^The  State  constitution  ^ 
says  that  the  ratio  for  apportioning  senators  shall  always  be 
found  by  dividing  the  whole  number  of  inhabitants  of  the 
State,  aliens  excepted,  by  fifty.  Thus  if  the  State  at  a  par- 
ticular census  be  found  to  contain  a  population  of  ten  mil- 
lions, each  200,000,  or  one  fiftieth  part  of  the  whole,  would 
be  entitled  under  the  ratio,  to  elect  one  State  senator.  This 
strict  mathematical  rule  is  not  however  carried  out  in  prac- 
tice ;  for  the  constitution  further  says,  that  in  forming  senate 
districts,  no  county  may  be  divided,  except  to  form  two  or 
more  districts  wholly  within  it ;  and  further,  that  no  one 
county  may  have  more  than  one  third  of  all  the  senators ; 
and  that  no  two  counties  joining  each  other  may  have  more 
than  one  half  of  the  senators  of  the  State.  This  rule  is 
intended  to  prevent  a  small  section  of  the  State,  with  a 
preponderance  of  population,  from  making  laws  in  the 
interest  of  the  section  as  against  the  interests  of  the  State 
as  a  whole. 

>  Article  III.,  Section  4. 

149 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  151 

When  There  May  be  a  Senate  of  More  than  Fifty  Mem- 
bers.— Though  the  ratio  for  apportioning  State  senators 
among  the  people  is  one  fiftieth  of  the  entire  population,  the 
senate  is  not  limited  to  exactly  fifty  members.  "  The  senate 
shall  always  be  composed  of  fifty  members,"  says  the  constitu- 
tion, "  except,  that  if  any  county,  having  three  or  more  sen. 
ators  at  the  time  of  any  apportionment,  shall  be  entitled  on 
such  ratio  (the  population  of  the  State  divided  by  fifty)  to  an 
additional  senator  or  senators,  such  additional  senator  or  sen- 
ators shall  be  given  to  such  county  in  addition  to  the  fifty  " ; 
and  the  whole  number  of  State  senators  shall  be  increased 
by  the  additional  number  allowed  the  particular  county. 
In  the  apportionment  made  after  the  census  of  1905,  Kings 
county  was  given  eight  senators  instead  of  the  seven  it 
formerly  had ;  so  for  the  following  ten  years  the  number 
of  State  senators  was  made  fifty-one.  For  the  senate  dis- 
tricts, see  pp.  148,  66. 

Assembly  Districts  and  Assemblymen. — The  quotient 
obtained  by  dividing  the  entire  population  of  the  State, 
aliens  excluded,  by  the  whole  number  of  assemblymen,  is 
the  ratio  for  apportioning  assemblymen  among  the  people ; 
but  each  of  the  sixty  counties  of  the  State  organized  before 
1894  must  have  at  least  one  assemblyman,  except  the  Adi- 
rondack counties  of  Fulton  and  Hamilton,  which  together 
have  but  one.  Under  this  rule  every  part  of  the  State  has 
its  representative  in  the  more  popular  branch  of  the  legis- 
lature. Every  county  having  a  population  of  one  and 
one  half  times  the  ratio,  or  more,  must  have  at  least  two 
assemblymen.  The  remaining  assemblymen  are  appor- 
tioned among  counties  having  a  population  of  more  than 
two  ratios,  and  in  proportion  to  the  population  of  each. 


152  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW   YORK, 

In  the  apportionment  for  1906-1916,  New  York  county 
has  thirty-five  assemblymen  ;  Kings,  twenty-three  ;  Erie, 
nine ;  Monroe,  five  ;  Queens  and  Westchester,  four  each  ; 
Albany,  Oneida,  and  Onondaga,  three  each  ;  Chautauqua, 
Dutchess,  Jefferson,  Niagara, Orange,  Rensselaer,  St.  Law- 
rence, Steuben,  Suffolk,  and  Ulster,  two  each ;  forty  other 
counties,  one  each;  and  Fulton  and  Hamilton  together,  one. 

The  board  of  supervisors  of  any  county,  entitled  to  more 
than  one  assemblyman,  divides  the  county  into  assembly 
districts.  Where  the  county  has  no  supervisors,  and  its 
limits  are  included  within  the  limits  of  a  city,  the  common 
council  of  the  city  divides  the  county.  No  town  and  no 
city  block  may  be  divided  in  forming  assembly  districts. 

Representation  of  New  York  City  in  the  Legislature. 
—  The  four  counties  embraced  in  the  city  of  New  York 
have  together  twenty-one  senators  out  of  the  total  fifty-one, 
and  sixty-three  assemblymen  out  of  the  total  1 50.  The  city 
therefore  elects  more  than  two  fifths  of  the  legislature  ;  and 
to  defeat  a  measure  supported  by  the  whole  city,  the  rest 
of  the  State  must  be  pretty  well  united  in  opposition. 

Who  May  be  Elected  to  the  Legislature.— The  people 
may  elect  any  citizen  of  the  State  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
to  either  the  senate  or  assembly ;  but  no  person  may  be  a 
member  of  the  legislature  and  hold  at  the  same  time  an- 
other public  office.  The  same  is  true  of  a  person  who, 
within  one  hundred  days  of  his  election  as  senator  or 
assemblyman,  has  been  a  member  of  Congress,  or  a  civil  or 
military  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  an  officer  of  any 
city  government.^  These  are  rules  adopted  by  the  people 
to  keep  the  lawmakers  free  from  the  influence  of  other  de- 
partments of  government,  and  free  from  national  or  local 
»  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  8. 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  153 

influences  that  might  interfere  with  their  impartial  action  in 
favor  of  the  State. 

Organization — The  first  work  of  each  house  of  the 
legislature  on  meeting  in  January,  is  to  organize  by  choos- 
ing its  officers.  The  assembly,  as  we  have  seen,  elects  its 
speaker,  and  each  house  elects,  from  outside  its  member- 
ship, a  clerk  to  keep  the  journal,  a  sergeant-at-arms  to 
maintain  order,  a  chief  doorkeeper  and  some  other  officers. 
Many  minor  officers  and  assistants  are  appointed  by  the 
clerk,  and  many  by  the  presiding  officer  of  each  house. 

The  choice  of  officers  is  conducted  on  party  lines.  In 
each  house  the  members  belonging  to  each  political  party 
hold  unofficial  meetings  by  themselves,  called  **  caucuses." 
The  elective  officers  of  each  house  are  really  chosen  in  the 
caucus  of  the  majority  party.  The  caucus  of  each  party 
also  selects  a  leader  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  party 
during  the  session ;  and  from  time  to  time  the  caucus  may 
meet  on  call  of  the  leader  to  decide  what  position  the  party 
shall  take  on  proposed  laws. 

How  State  Laws  are  Made. — First,  a  proposed  law,  or 
"  bill,"  as  it  is  called,  is  introduced  by  some  member  of  the 
senate  or  assembly,  who  thus  becomes  sponsor  for  the  bill. 
If  in  the  assembly,  the  bill  goes  to  the  clerk  of  that  body 
and  from  him  to  the  speaker,  who  at  the  proper  time 
announces  its  introduction  and  reads  the  title  of  the  bill. 
This  is  called  **  the  first  reading  of  the  bill."  In  the 
senate  each  senator  personally  introduces  his  own  bills. 
After  its  "  first  reading  "  a  bill  is  printed  and  is  sent  ^  by 
the  presiding  officer  to  a  committee  previously  appointed 
by  him  to  consider  proposed  laws  upon  similar  subjects. 

Committees  of  the  Legislature. — The  members  of  each 

^  After  "  first  reading  "  in  assembly;   after  "  second  reading  "  in  senate. 


154  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

house — senate  and  assembly — are,  at  the  beginning  of  each 
session  of  the  legislature,  divided  into  committees  to  con- 
sider proposed  laws.  In  the  assembly  the  members  com- 
posing such  committees  are  named  by  the  speaker;^  in  the 
senate  by  the  Heutenant  governor  or  other  presiding  officer.^ 
In  both  senate  and  assembly  standing  committees,  of  from 
five  to  fifteen  members  each,  are  appointed  on  each  of 
such  subjects  as  finance,  judiciary,  affairs  of  cities,  canals, 
commerce  and  navigation,  insurance,  railroads,  taxation  and 
retrenchment,  internal  affairs  of  towns  and  counties,  public 
education,  affairs  of  villages,  agriculture,  revision,  rules.^ 
Besides  its  standing  committees,  each  house  may  have  a  num- 
ber of  select  or  special  committees  to  consider  matters  out- 
side the  Hnes  of  ordinarily  proposed  legislation.  On  each 
committee,  as  a  rule,  a  majority  of  members  are  from  the 
majority  party,  and  a  minority  from  the  minority  party. 
The  speaker  acts  as  chairman  of  the  assembly  committee 
on  rules. 

Work  of  the  Legislative  Committees. — When  a  bill, 
after  its  introduction,  has  been  referred  to  the  proper  com- 

1  The  speaker,  as  presiding  officer,  is  addressed  by  any  members  rising  to 
speak  in  the  assembly;  and  no  one  can  "have  the  floor"  until  the  speaker 
has  "recognized"  him.  As  chairman  also  of  the  committee  on  rules,  the 
speaker  exerts  a  powerful  influence  on  legislation,  and  is  a  more  important 
officer  than  the  heutenant  governor. 

2 The  lieutenant  governor  is  the  constitutional  president  of  the  senate; 
but  the  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  lo,  provides  that  the  senate  shall 
choose  a  temporary  president  (president /r^  tempore),  in  case  of  the  absence 
or  impeachment  of  the  lieutenant  governor,  or  in  case  he  refuses  to  act  as 
president,  or  is  acting  as  governor. 

^  A  complete  list  of  the  standing  committees  of  senate  and  assembly,  with 
the  members  composing  them  at  any  session  of  the  legislature,  may  be  found 
in  the  "  Red  Book,"  or  State  Legislative  Manual  for  that  particular  year.  The 
Red  Book  contains  also  much  other  valuable  information. 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  155 

mittee,  its  members  proceed  to  hear  the  arguments  both 
for  and  against  it.  These  hearings  may  be  pubHc,  and 
prominent  men  on  both  sides  of  the  question  may  be  invited 
to  present  their  views.  After  sufficient  consideration,  and 
perhaps  alteration  of  the  bill,  the  committee  reports  it  either 
"favorably"  or  "unfavorably"  to  the  house  in  which  it 
originated.  An  "  unfavorable  "  report  is  often  sufficient  to 
"  kill  the  bill,"  that  is,  to  prevent  further  action  being  taken 
in  its  favor;  but  not  always.  Sometimes  a  committee 
makes  no  report  on  a  bill  unless  ordered  to  do  so  by  the 
house.  Failure  to  report  upon  bills  is  an  effective  way  of 
preventing  much  undesirable  legislation.  The  great  ad- 
vantage of  the  committee  system  is  that  it  enables  the  leg- 
islature to  do  more  business  than  it  otherwise  could.  For 
lack  of  time,  the  full  house  can  give  careful  consideration 
to  only  a  few  bills.  By  means  of  committees  the  work  is 
practically  divided. 

The  committee  system  has  been  extended  also  to  include  the  work 
of  investigating  various  questions  and  problems  on  which  the  legislature 
may  need  to  pass  laws.  Thus  a  commission  of  members  of  either  house, 
or  a  joint  commission  of  members  from  both,  may  be  instructed  to  take 
evidence  concerning  the  conduct  of  insurance  companies,  or  the  govern- 
ment of  cities,  or  the  con-uption  of  public  officials.  Such  a  commission 
may  hold  meetings  at  Albany  and  elsewhere,  and  may  even  sit  while 
the  legislature  is  not  in  session. 

Debating  Proposed  Laws. — When  a  bill  has  been  for- 
mally reported  to  senate  or  assembly  by  the  committee 
having  it  in  charge,^  it  may  then  be  taken  up  section  by 
section,  debated,  amended  if  thought  necessary,  perhaps 
recommitted  to  the  original  committee  or  some  other  com- 

1  If  the  bill  has  been  amended  by  the  committee,  it  must  be  again  printed 
to  show  the  changes  made. 


156  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

mittee  for  further  consideration  and  report,^  and  finally- 
agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  the  house.  Such  favorable  ac- 
tion is  called  passing  a  bill  "  on  its  second  reading ";2  or 
the  bill  may  be  defeated,  on  motion  to  pass  it  on  a  second 
reading.  A  bill  passed  on  its  second  reading  ^  is  then  printed 
in  its  final  form,  and  it  cannot  be  afterwards  changed.  In 
this  final  form  the  bill  must  lie  for  three  legislative  days 
(unless  the  governor  certify  that  the  bill  should  at  once 
become  a  law)  on  the  desks  of  the  members  of  the  house, 
before  it  can  be  passed  on  its  "  third  "  or  final  reading.^ 
This  deliberation  gives  each  legislator  an  opportunity  to 
examine  carefully  all  bills  before  finally  voting  upon  them. 
"Committee  of  the  Whole." — Before  its  final  passage  on 
third  reading,  a  bill  is  often  considered  and  debated  in  what 
is  termed  "  Committee  of  the  Whole."  The  committee  of 
the  whole  includes  the  entire  senate,  or  the  entire  assembly. 
In  committee  of  the  whole  the  strict  formal  rules  of  the 
legislative  body  are  laid  aside,  the  speaker  or  other  presid- 
ing officer  leaves  the  chair,  naming  some  member  of  the 
house  to  take  his  place,  and  free  and  informal  debate  upon 
the  merits  of  the  proposed  law  is  indulged  in.  When  such 
discussion  is  completed,  the  committee  of  the  whole  resolves 
itself  into  senate  or  assembly,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  reports  what  action  has  been 
taken.     The  committee  of  the  whole  cannot  conclude  any 

*  A  bill  sometimes  includes  provisions  that  fall  within  the  province  of  more 
than  one  committee.  There  is  also  a  revision  committee  in  each  house.  Fur- 
thermore, three  competent  persons  are  engaged  by  the  temporary  president 
of  the  senate  and  the  speaker  of  the  assembly  to  give  expert  assistance  in  the 
drafting  and  revision  of  proposed  bills,  whenever  asked  by  either  house  of  the 
legislature,  or  by  any  committee  or  member. 

^  In  the  assembly ;  the  senate  acts  in  committee  of  the  whole  at  this  stage. 

*  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  15. 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  157 

business  and  cannot  adjourn  ;  it  is  simply  a  legal  fiction  for 
securing  freedom  of  debate. 

Bills  Must  Pass  Both  Houses.— A  bill,  after  passing  the 
house  in  which  it  originated,  goes  to  the  other  house,  where 
it  is  referred  to  the  proper  committee  to  go  through  a  pro. 
cedure  similar  to  the  one  in  the  house  where  it  originated. 
No  bill  may  become  a  law,  except  by  the  assent  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  elected  to  each  branch  of  the  legis- 
lature.^ If  the  two  houses  disagree  on  some  parts  of  a  bill 
which  both  wish  to  pass,  they  may  appoint  conference  com- 
mittees to  act  together  in  reconsidering  the  bill.  The  form 
of  the  bill  recommended  by  such  committees  (often  a  com- 
promise) may  or  may  not  then  be  passed  by  both  houses. 

Whenever  public  money  is  appropriated  for  any  purpose, 
at  least  three  fifths  of  the  members  of  each  house  must  be 
present  when  the  vote  is  taken.^  Bills  appropriating  pub- 
lic money  for  private  purposes,  must  receive  a  two-thirds 
affirmative  vote  of  the  members  elected  to  each  legislative 
house,  in  order  to  become  laws.^  These  restrictions  are 
placed  on  the  legislature  by  the  people  of  the  State,  in 
order  to  prevent  a  careless  and  hasty  spending  of  the  public 
money. 

Action  by  the  Governor  on  Bills. — Bills  which  pass  in 
both  senate  and  assembly,  go  to  the  governor  of  the  State 
for  his  signature.  If  the  governor  approves  a  bill,  he  signs 
it  and  it  becomes  a  law.  If  he  disapproves  it,  he  returns 
it  to  the  house  in  which  it  originated,  with  a  statement  of 
his  objections.  This  is  called  the  "governor's  veto"  of  the 
bill.     The  bill  may  then  be  reconsidered,  and  if  finally  ap- 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  15. 

2  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  25. 
^  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  20. 


1S8  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

proved  by  two  thirds  of  the  assembly  and  two  thirds  of  the 
senate,  it  becomes  a  law  without  the  governor's  signature.^ 

If  a  bill  sent  to  the  governor  be  not  returned  by  him 
within  ten  days  (Sunday  not  counted)  after  it  is  presented  to 
him  for  his  signature,  it  becomes  a  law  without  his  signa- 
ture, if  the  legislature  is  still  in  session.  On  adjournment 
of  the  legislature,  the  governor  has  thirty  days  in  which 
to  consider  unsigned  bills  in  his  possession.  If  he  sign 
them  within  that  time,  they  become  laws ;  if  not,  they  fail. 

In  an  appropriation  bill  the  governor  may  veto  one  or 
more  items  while  approving  the  rest;  thus  practically  divid- 
ing such  a  bill  into  two  parts,  one  of  which  is  vetoed  while 
the  other  becomes  law. 

The  governor,  though  the  head  of  the  executive  depart- 
ment, is  thus  an  important  part  of  the  law-making  power. 
For  through  his  veto,  he  may  prevent  the  passage  of  ill-ad- 
vised and  hasty  measures,  by  compelling  their  reconsidera- 
tion by  the  legislature. 

What  the  Legislature  May  and  May  Not  Do.— The  leg- 
islature may  enact  any  general  law,  applying  to  the  people 
of  the  whole  State,  that  is  not  in  conflict  with  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  United  States  ^  and  the  State  constitu- 
tion. Similarly  the  legislature  may  also  repeal  any  law 
previously  enacted.  Each  legislative  house  makes  its  own 
rules,  and  judges  of  the  qualifications  of  its  members.  The 
legislature  is  prohibited  from  enacting  private  or  local  laws 
in  the  following  cases : 

Changing  names  of  persons ;  laying  out  or  affecting  roads  or  drain- 
ing swamps ;  locating  or  changing  county  seats ;  locating  or  changing 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  IV.,  Section  9. 

2  For  Acts  forbidden  a  State  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  see 
"  Acts  Forbidden  to  the  Governments  of  the  Several  States,"  Chapter  XXII. 


THE  LEGISLATURE  159 

venue  in  civil  or  criminal  cases ;  incorporating  villages ;  providing 
for  electing  supervisors  or  summoning  jurors ;  regulating  the  rate  of 
interest  on  money ;  conducting  elections ;  creating  or  changing  fees 
of  public  officers  during  their  term ;  granting  the  right  to  lay  railroad 
tracks ;  granting  to  any  private  corporation,  association  or  individual 
any  exclusive  privilege,  immunity  or  franchise;  providing  for  build- 
ing bridges,  except  oh  the  Hudson  below  Waterford,  on  the  East 
River,  or  over  waters  forming  the  boundaries  of  the  State.  But  the 
legislature  may  pass  general  laws  applying  to  any  of  these  subjects. 

The  legislature  may  not  audit  or  allow  any  private  claim 
against  the  State,  but  it  may  grant  money  for  the  payment 
of  claims,  after  they  have  been  audited  and  allowed  by  the 
proper  public  officers. 

By  imposing  these  and  other  restrictions  on  the  legislature  (pp.  125- 
131,  156,  157),  the  people  to  some  extent  show  distrust  of  it;  but  this 
distrust  exists  to  a  much  greater  extent  in  some  other  States.  In  most 
of  the  States  the  legislature  meets  only  once  in  two  years ;  many  States 
fix  a  time  limit  for  sessions  of  the  legislature  ;  and  several  have  adopted 
the  initiative  and  referendum  (p.  146).  This  distrust  is  shown  also  in 
the  fact  that  the  newer  State  constitutions  are  generally  longer  than  the 
old  ones,  because  they  contain  so  many  minute  provisions  which  might 
have  been  left  to  the  legislature  to  make.  The  Constitution  of  Okla- 
homa, an  extreme  case,  is  many  times  as  long  as  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  several  times  as  long  as  the  older  State  constitutions. 

Not  only  do  the  State  constitutions  differ  greatly  in  detail,  but  the 
laws  passed  by  the  different  legislatures  are  widely  diverse.  On  some 
subjects  this  diversity  is  proper  and  wise,  because  local  conditions  vary 
in  the  several  States,  and  laws  suited  to  one  State  may  be  unsuitable 
for  another.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  frauds,  immorality  and  other 
serious  evils  have  been  fostered  by  diversity  in  laws  governing  marriage 
and  divorce,  the  regulation  of  corporations  and  some  other  subjects.^ 

1  In  1908  the  President  of  the  United  States  invited  the  governors  of  all 
the  States  to  meet  in  Washington  to  discuss  some  subjects  requiring  State 
legislation.  The  assemblage  was  often  spoken  of  as  the  "  House  of  Govern- 
ors."    Other  meetings  of  a  similar  unofficial  character  have  been  held  since 


i6o  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

State  Finances.  —  One  of  the  most  important  duties  of 
the  legislature  is  to  control  the  finances  of  the  State :  levy 
taxes  and  decide  what  appropriations  shall  be  made.  The 
State  has  borrowed  large  sums  for  the  improvement  of 
highways  and  canals ;  the  legislature  provides  for  paying 
the  interest  on  this  public  debt  and  for  paying  the  princi- 
pal when  due.  The  ordinary  running  expenses  of  the 
State  are  more  than  ;^30,poo,ooo  a  year,  of  which  nearly  1 5 
per  cent  is  for  the  various  State  administrative  depart- 
ments; about  4  per  cent  for  the  legislature  (and  legislative 
printing),  4  per  cent  for  the  State  courts,  4  per  cent  for 
prisons  and  reformatories,  and  30  per  cent  for  charitable 
purposes,  hospitals  for  the  insane,  etc. ;  more  than  20  per 
cent  for  educational  purposes;  about  2  per  cent  for  the 
organized  militia,  and  about  1 5  per  cent  for  pubUc  works, 
such  as  highways,  public  buildings,  etc.^ 

Freedom  of  Speech  and  the  Legislature. — Each  legisla- 
tive house — senate  and  assembly — is  the  sole  judge  as  to 
whether  its  members  have  been  properly  elected  to  it,  and 
as  to  whether  or  not  they  are  entitled  to  seats  in  it.  No 
member  of  either  house  may  be  made  to  suffer,  under  the 
law,  for  any  speech  he  may  make  in  the  legislature,  or  for 
any  information  he  may  furnish  to  enable  it  to  perform  its 
duty  to  the  people.  This  is  a  rule  of  law  placed  by  the 
people  of  the  State  in  the  constitution  2  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  members  of  the  law-making  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment absolute  freedom  in  their  discussions  of  what  is  for 
the  best  interests  of  the  State.     It  is  similar  to  a  provision 

then,  and  by  the  interchange  of  opinion  they  have  a  tendency  to  lessen  the 
diversity  of  State  laws. 

1  For  the  revenue  of  the  State,  see  Chapter  XIX. 

2  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  12, 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  i6l 

in  the  English  Bill  of  Rights  of  1689,  in  which  it  was  de- 
clared that  '♦  freedom  of  speech  and  debates  or  proceedings 
in  parliament  ought  not  to  be  questioned  in  any  court  or 
place  out  of  parliament." 

Election  of  United  States  Senators. — An  important  duty 
of  the  legislature  is  the  election  of  senators  to  represent  the 
State  in  the  United  States  senate.  When  a  United  States 
senator  is  elected  the  two  houses  sit  in  joint  session — that  is 
the  senate  and  assembly  meet  as  a  single  body — and  vote  at 
least  once  a  day  till  a  senator  has  been  chosen  by  a  major- 
ity of  the  votes  cast.^ 

Power  to  Impeach  and  Remove  Public  Officers. — 
A  public  officer  guilty  of  wrongdoing,  may  be  tried  and 
removed  from  office  by  what  is  called  the  process  of  im- 
peachment. In  such  cases  the  assembly  makes  a  formal 
charge  against  the  offending  officer,  reciting  the  facts  of  his 
wrongdoing.  This  charge  is  called  the  impeachment.  The 
impeachment  is  heard  by  the  members  of  the  State  senate, 
the  judges  of  the  State  court  of  appeals,  and  the  lieutenant 
governor,  sitting  together  as  a  court  for  the  trial  of  impeach- 
ments. A  majority  of  the  senators  and  judges  must  be 
present  to  constitute  this  court,  and  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all 
present  is  necessary  to  convict  the  accused  public  officer, 
who,  if  declared  guilty,  may  be  removed  from  his  office  and 
disquahfied  from  holding  any  other  office  of  honor,  trust,  or 
profit  under  the  State.  Besides  his  impeachment  and  re- 
moval from  office,  a  public  officer  found  guilty  of  wrong- 
doing may  be  punished  like  a  common  criminal,  by  sentence 
of  the  ordinary  courts  of  the  State. 

Other  Legislative  Powers. — It  is  provided  by  State  law 
that  the  governor  shall  appoint  many  important  public  offi- 

i  See  "  Election  of  Senators,"  Chapter  XXIII. 


1 62  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

cers,  "  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate." 
Under  this  provision  the  governor  names  the  persons  to  fill 
certain  offices,  sending  these  "  nominations,"  as  they  are 
called,  to  the  senate,  which  then,  by  majority  vote,  confirms 
or  rejects  them.  This  power  of  the  senate  to  reject  a 
nomination  to  office  is  an  important  check  in  preventing 
possible  bad  appointments. 

SUMMARY. 

Senators  and  assemblymen  are  apportioned  among  the 
people  of  the  State  on  the  basis  of  population.  For  this 
purpose  a  State  census  is  taken  every  ten  years. 

The  ratio  for  apportioning  senators  is  one  fiftieth  of  the 
State's  population,  and  the  ratio  for  apportioning  assembly- 
men is  the  whole  population  of  the  State  divided  by  the  en- 
tire number  of  assemblymen. 

Every  county  in  the  State,  except  Fulton  and  Hamilton, 
is  entitled  to  at  least  one  assemblyman ;  and  the  supervisors 
of  a  particular  county,  entitled  to  more  than  a  single  assem- 
blyman, divide  it  into  assembly  districts. 

Any  citizen  of  the  State  is  generally  eligible  for  the  office 
of  either  senator  or  assemblyman ;  but  no  man  while  a 
member  of  the  State  legislature  may  hold  any  other  public 
office. 

Laws  are  made  by  their  passing  both  senate  and  assem- 
bly by  a  majority  vote  in  each.  They  are  then  signed  by 
the  governor.  The  governor  may  veto  a  proposed  law,  but 
it  may  be  re-passed  over  his  veto  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of 
both  senate  and  assembly. 

The  legislature  is  prohibited  by  the  constitution  from  en- 
acting private  or  local  laws  in  many  specified  cases.  The 
senators  and  assemblymen,  sitting  in  joint   session,  elect 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  163 

United  States  senators  to  represent  the  State  in  Congress. 
The  assembly  may  bring  impeachment  cases  against  public 
officers  before  the  senate,  the  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals 
and  the  lieutenant  governor,  sitting  together  as  a  court  for 
the  trial  of  impeachments.  The  senate  passes  upon  nomi- 
nations to  office  made  by  the  governor. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

In  what  years,  and  for  what  purposes,  is  the  State  census 
taken  ? 

What  provisions  in  the  constitution  prevent  New  York 
city  from  ever  obtaining  a  preponderance  of  power  in  the 
State  legislature  ? 

What  two  counties  of  the  State  are  together  allowed  but 
one  assemblyman  ?  • 

What  body  divides  a  county  into  assembly  districts  ? 

Why  is  a  member  of  the  State  legislature  not  allowed  to 
hold  at  the  same  time  another  office  ? 

What  provision  of  the  constitution  guarantees  freedom  of 
debate  in  the  legislature  ? 

Mention  six  steps  in  the  passing  of  a  law  through  the 
State  legislature.  What  provision  of  the  constitution  en- 
sures deliberation  in  the  passing  of  laws?  What  special 
provision  applies  to  the  passing  of  bills  appropriating  public 
money  ? 

Describe  the  work  of  standing  committees  of  the  legisla- 
ture.    How  are  these  committees  named  ? 

Describe  in  detail  the  action  necessary  to  pass  a  bill  over 
the  governor's  veto. 

Mention  three  cases  in  which  the  legislature  may  not 
pass  private  or  local  laws. 

How  are  private  claims  against  the  State  allowed  ? 


i64  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

What  is  meant  by  impeachment  ?  For  what  purposes  are 
impeachment  proceedings  brought  ?  What  body  conducts 
such  proceedings  ?  What  persons  constitute  the  court  for 
the  trial  of  impeachments? 

What  power  has  the  senate  to  reject  nominations  made  to 
office  by  the  governor  ? 


CHAPTER  XV. 
The  State's  Executive  Department. 

Among  the  early  Germans  every  tribe  or  nation  had 
its  head  man.  He  led  its  army  in  battle  and  presided  over 
its  assembly  in  time  of  peace.  When  Angle,  Saxon,  Jute, 
and  Dane  crossed  the  North  Sea  and  made  their  homes  in 
Britain,  the  head  man  of  the  tribe  became  the  petty  king  in 
the  little  English  kingdom,  which  afterwards  became  the 
"shire."  These  little  kingdoms,  as  we  have  seen,  finally 
united  in  the  greater  kingdom  of  England,  and  one  king 
ruled  over  the  English  people.  The  king,  through  his  sub- 
ordinates, enforced  the  laws  of  the  land ;  and  no  general 
law  could  be  made  without  his  consent.  The  king  had 
power  to  pardon  criminals  condemned  for  violating  the  law. 
He  called  the  lawmakers  together  in  parliament,  and  dis- 
missed them,  much  as  he  pleased.  He  appointed  the  chief 
judges  and  other  officers  of  the  realm. 

The  governor  of  the  modern  American  State  has  in- 
herited  many  of  these  attributes  of  kingship.  He  is  the 
head  of  the  State's  executive  department,  and  responsible 
for  the  enforcernent  of  State  law.  He  is  commander  in 
chief  of  the  State's  military  forces.  He  has  a  veto  power  in 
its  legislative  department.  He  has  the  royal  power  of 
pardoning  criminals  condemned  by  its  courts.  He  takes 
the  initiative  in  the  appointment  of  many  high  State  offi- 
cers. Yet,  though  he  seems  to  be  a  great  and  glittering 
figure,  the  governor,  like  members  of  the  legislature,  can  do 

165 


i66  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

only  those  things  permitted  by  the  constitution.  The  gov- 
ernor's right  to  rule  comes  from  the  people,  and  under  the 
law  he  is  the  people's  chief  servant. 

New  York's  Early  Governors. — ^The  first  governors  of 
territory  included  in  what  is  now  New  York,  were,  as  we 
have  seen,  appointed  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
and  they  represented  the  interests  of  this  money-making 
corporation,  rather  than  the  interests  of  the  people  over 
whom  they  ruled.  Under  the  English,  the  early  governors 
represented  at  first  the  Duke  of  York,  and  afterwards  the 
king  of  England.  Like  the  Dutch  governors,  they  cared 
little  for  the  rights  of  the  people.  After  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  when  New  York  became  one  of  the  United 
States,  the  freeholders  or  landowners  elected  the  governor. 
But  their  experiences  under  colonial  governors  made  them 
suspicious  of  their  elective  governor,  and  they  gave  him  at 
first  no  veto  power  in  the  legislature.  Neither  was  he  al- 
lowed to  appoint  any  subordinate  State  officers,  except  as  a 
member  of  a  council  of  appointment,  in  which  the  governor 
had  one  vote  out  of  five.  When  the  State  constitution  was 
revised  in  1821,  the  people  gave  the  governor  the  veto 
power,  and  the  further  power  to  appoint,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  State  senate,  all  judges  except 
justices  of  the  peace.  Since  then  the  office  of  judge  has 
been  made  elective ;  and  the  powers  of  the  governor  have 
been  enlarged  with  almost  every  subsequent  revision  of  the 
State  constitution. 

Powers  and  Duties  of  the  Governor. — The  governor  of 
New  York  is  now  elected  by  a  plurality  of  the  citizens  vot- 
ing at  the  general  State  election  held  in  even-numbered 
years.  He  holds  office  for  two  years,  and  receives  an 
annual  salary  of  ;^  10,000.     He  has  power  to  call  together 


THE  STATE'S  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT  167 

the  State  legislature  (or  the  senate  alone)  in  extraordinary 
session,  with  the  right  to  deal  only  with  matters  he  submits 
to  it;  and  one  of  his  duties  is  to  send  a  "  message"  to  the 
legislature  at  every  regular  session  of  that  body,  describing 
the  condition  of  the  public  business,  and  recommending  the 
passing  of  such  new  laws  as  he  may  think  wise.  The  gov- 
ernor may  reprieve,  pardon,  or  commute  the  sentence  of 
any  criminal  convicted  in  the  courts  of  the  State.^  The  gov- 
ernor is  said  to  reprieve  a  criminal  when  he  postpones  the 
date  of  the  execution  of  the  sentence  against  him.  He 
pardons  the  criminal  when  he  forgives  the  offense  and  sets 
the  offender  free.  He  commutes  the  sentence  when  he 
makes  the  punishment  lighter  than  the  punishment  fixed  by 
the  court.  The  only  exceptions  to  this  pardoning  power  of 
the  governor,  are  in  the  case  of  a  person  convicted  of  treason, 
and  in  the  case  of  a  public  officer  who  has  been  impeached. 
In  the  former  case  the  governor  may  suspend  the  execution 
of  sentence  till  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  and 
leave  the  final  decision  of  the  matter  to  that  body.^  The 
governor  has  power  to  suspend  the  State  treasurer  during  a 
recess  of  the  legislature,  and  to  appoint  a  temporary  treasurer 
in  his  place.  Thus  the  governor  can  protect  the  moneys 
of  the  State  from  a  dishonest  or  incompetent  treasurer. 

The  Lieutenant  Governor. — The  lieutenant  governor  is 
elected  at  the  same  time  as  the  governor,  in  the  same  man- 

1  In  some  other  States  this  powei;  is  given  instead  to  a  board  of  pardons, 
of  which  the  governor  is  only  one  member. 

2  Ordinary  crimes,  such  as  murder,  burglary,  arson,  etc.,  are  committed 
directly  against  the  individual  and  only  indirectly  against  the  State;  while 
treason,  on  the  other  hand,  is  committed  directly  against  the  State,  and  is  re- 
garded as  being  most  heinous  because  it  aims  to  take  the  life  of  the  State. 
Treason  in  New  York  consists  in  making  war  against  the  people  of  the  State, 
or  during  war  adhering  to  or  aiding  the  enemies  of  the  State. 


i6S  GOVERNMENT  OE  NEPV  YORK. 

ner,  and  for  the  same  term  of  office.  His  salary  is  ^5,000 
annually.  He  takes  the  place  of  the  governor,  should  the 
latter  die,  resign,  be  impeached,  or  otherwise  become  unable 
to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office.  The  Ueutenant  governor 
presides  over  the  State  senate,  and  he  has  a  vote  in  that 
body  in  case  of  a  tie.  He  is  also,  by  reason  of  his  office,  a 
member  of  various  boards  of  State  officials.  Both  the  gov- 
ernor and  heutenant  governor^  must  be  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  must  be  at  least  thirty  years  old,  and  must 
have  lived  in  the  State  for  at  least  five  years  preceding  their 
election.  Like  the  members  of  the  legislature,  they  may 
hold  but  one  public  office  at  a  time.  If  both  governor  and 
heutenant  governor  become  at  the  same  time  incapable  of 
performing  their  official  duties,  a  president  of  the  senate 
elected  by  that  body,  acts  as  governor ;  and  should  the  lat- 
ter  become  disqualified,  the  speaker  of  the  assembly  be- 
comes the  acting  governor. 

Other  State  Officers  Elected  by  the  Voters.— -At  the 
same  time  as  the  election  of  the  governor  and  lieutenant 
governor,  the  voters  of  the  State  elect  for  terms  of  two  years, 
the  following  officers  of  the  State  executive  department: 
Secretary  of  State,  Comptroller,  Treasurer,  Attorney-Gen- 
eral,  and  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor.  These  officers  re- 
ceive annual  salaries  varying  from  $6,000  to  ;^  10,000  each 
(see  table,  page  366).  For  misconduct  in  office,  the  senate 
may  depose  any  of  these  officers,  upon  the  governor's  rec- 
ommendation, by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  senators. 

The  Secretary  of  State. — The  secretary  of  state  is  the 
chief  clerk  of  the  State  executive  department.  He  has 
charge  of  public  records  and  documents  belonging  to  the 
State,  and  he  supervises  the  printing  of  the  laws  passed  by 
the  legislature.     He  keeps  the  great  seal  of  the  State,  and 


THE   STATE'S  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT.  169 

the  original  copies  of  deeds  of  lands  belonging  to  the  State. 
In  general,  the  secretary  of  state  may  be  said  to  perform  for 
the  State  such  duties  as  are  performed  by  the  county  clerk 
for  the  county,  and  by  the  town  clerk  for  the  town.  His 
office  is  not  to  be  compared  in  dignity  and  importance  with 
that  of  the  United  States  officer  known  as  the  secretary  of 
state.  The  latter  is  a  member  of  the  President's  cabinet, 
and  the  chief  officer  in  arranging  our  relations  with  foreign 
nations. 

The  Comptroller. — The  comptroller  manages  the  finan- 
cial affairs  of  the  State  government,  under  the  direction  of 
the  legislature  and  governor.  He  reports  to  the  legislature 
the  State's  annual  revenue  and  expenses,  superintends  the 
collection  of  State  taxes,  examines  and  audits  claims  and 
other  accounts  due  to  or  from  the  State;  and  arranges  for 
securing  any  temporary  loans  needed  for  carrying  on  the 
different  departments  of  State  government.  No  public 
money  of  the  State  may  be  paid  out  except  upon  the  order 
or  warrant  of  the  comptroller  directed  to  the  State  treasurer. 

The  State  Treasurer. — The  State  treasurer  receives  from 
the  comptroller  moneys  collected  from  State  taxes  and  from 
other  sources,  and  pays  out  the  money  as  ordered  by  the 
comptroller.  His  duties  are  similar  to  the  duties  performed 
by  a  county,  town,  or  city  treasurer. 

The  Attorney-General. — The  attorney-general  is  the  law 
officer  of  the  State  government,  and  the  State's  chief  public 
prosecutor.  His  duties  to  the  State  may  be  compared  with 
the  duties  of  district  attorneys  in  the  several  counties.  The 
attorney-general  conducts  for  the  State  all  important  suits 
or  legal  proceedings  in  which  it  is  an  interested  party,  and 
he  prosecutes  criminals  before  the  supreme  court,  when 
requested  to  do  so  by  the  governor  or  by  the  judges  of  this 


IT©  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

court.     The  attorney-general  is  also  the  legal  adviser  of  the 
State  legislature  and  other  State  officers. 

The  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor. — The  State  engineer 
and  surveyor  has  charge  of  the  surveying  and  mapping  of  the 
public  lands  of  the  State.  He  also  superintends  the  engi- 
neering  department  of  the  State  canals.  He  must  be  a  prac- 
tical  civil  engineer. 

State  Executive  Officers  Appointed. — ^The  governor,  "  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,"  appoints  a 
large  number  of  officers  in  the  different  branches  of  the 
State  executive  department;  these  officers  usually  serve 
for  fixed  terms,  but  they  may  be  removed  by  the  senate  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  governor.  Among  the  more 
important  of  these  officers  are:  superintendent  of  public 
works,  superintendent  of  banks,  superintendent  of  insur-  | 
ance,  superintendent  of  State  prisons,  three  tax  com- 
missioners, commissioner  of  excise,  three  commissioners  of 
highways,  ten  public  service  commissioners,  three  civil  ser-  1 
vice  commissioners,  commissioner  of  agriculture,  commis- 
sioner of  labor  and  two  deputy  commissioners,  forest,  fish 
and  game  commissioner,  a  State  commissioner  of  health. 
State  board  of  charities,  three  commissioners  of  lunacy, 
superintendent  of  public  buildings,  and  a,  health  officer  of 
the  port  of  New  York.  The  governor's  nominations  to 
office  are  almost  always  confirmed  by  the  senate,  but  its 
power  to  reject  such  a  nomination  is  an  important  one,  and 
may  be  effectively  used  to  prevent  a  bad  man  from  taking 
office. 

The  governor  has  power  to  appoint  some  officers  without 
the  confirmation  of  the  senate;  and  to  fill  vacancies  in  some 
important  county,  State,  and  judicial  offices. 

Executive  Officers  Elected  by  the  Legislature. — The 


THE  STATE'S  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT.  171 

members  of  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature — senate  and 
assembly — sitting  together  in  joint  session,  elect  the  Re- 
gents of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  who 
in  their  turn  choose  a  State  commissioner  of  education 
(p.  211).  The  State  commissioner  of  education  and 
the  regents  have  general  supervision  of  schools  and  public 
education  in  the  State.  Their  duties  are  described  in 
detail  in  Chapter  XVIII. 

The  State  Militia. — An  important  branch  of  the  State 
executive  department  is  the  State  militia.  The  militia 
consists  of  "  all  able-bodied  male  citizens  between  the  ages 
of  eighteen  and  forty- five  who  are  residents  of  the  State,"  ^ 
except  a  few  already  considered  to  be  acting  in  the  public 
service,  such  as  legislative  and  executive  officers,  judges, 
teachers,  ministers,  physicians,  etc.  Every  member  of  the 
militia  is  a  possible  soldier,  and  the  State  legislature  is  re- 
quired by  the  constitution  to  maintain  at  all  times  a  force  of 
"  not  less  than  ten  thousand  enlisted  men,  fully  uniformed, 
armed,  equipped,  disciplined  and  ready  for  active  service."  * 
This  requirement  is  met  at  present  by  the  voluntary  enlistment 
of  young  men  in  regiments  known  as  the  National  Guard. 
The  members  of  the  national  guard  choose  their  own  local 
officers,  and  the  State  furnishes  the  men  with  arms  and 
armories.  The  State  militia,  including  the  national  guard, 
is  under  the  command  of  the  governor  of  the  State,  who 
appoints  the  chiefs  of  the  staff,  and,  with  the  consent  of  the 
senate,  the  major  general.  The  governor  may  call  out  the 
militia  whenever  necessary  to  suppress  disorder  or  enforce 
the  laws  of  the  State. 

The  State's  Civil  Service. — Outside  of  the  possible  mili- 

'New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  XI.,  Section  i. 
2  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  XI.,  Section  3. 


1758  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

tary  service  required  of  every  citizen  of  the  State,  there  are 
many  persons  employed  in  what  is  called  the  civil  service 
of  the  State.  This  includes  all  public  offices  of  the  State  not 
classified  as  naval  or  military.  Officers  in  the  State's  civil 
service  are  either  elected  by  the  people  or  appointed  by 
other  officers.  These  appointed  officers  constitute  by  far 
the  larger  number  of  officeholders,  and  consist  chiefly  of 
persons  occupying  comparatively  inferior  positions,  such  as 
clerks  in  the  legislative,  executive  and  judiciary  departments 
of  the  State  and  the  various  local  governments.  Up  to 
within  a  few  years  ago  this  army  of  petty  officeholders  held 
their  positions,  not  so  much  because  of  their  peculiar  fitness 
for  holding  office,  as  a  reward  for  services  rendered  to  some 
politician  or  political  party.  In  this  way,  many  unfit  per- 
sons came  into  the  public  service  and  many  abuses  arose. 
In  consequence,  it  became  necessary  to  enact  both  national 
and  State  laws,  regulating  appointments  to  the  civil  service.^ 

1  See  "  The  President  and  the  Civil  Service,"  Chapter  XXIII.  The  words 
"  civil  service  "  have  been  applied  almost  exclusively  in  practice  to  appointive 
officers  in  the  executive  department.  In  the  earlier  years  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment these  appointees  held  their  positions,  as  a  rule,  during  good  behavior. 
Jefferson  introduced  the  practice  of  appointing  and  removing  such  officers  for 
political  party  reasons.  Jackson  greatly  extended  this  practice,  which  be- 
came known  as  the  "  spoils  system,"  and  subsequent  presidents  continued  the 
practice.  To  reduce  the  evils  of  the  "spoils  system,"  Congress  in  1883  passed 
a  law  creating  a  national  Civil  Service  Commission  of  three  persons,  not  more 
than  two  from  one  political  party,  to  devise  a  system  of  appointment  and  pro- 
motion in  the  civil  service  free  from  the  influence  of  party  politics.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  present  system  of  competitive  examinations.  Professional 
politicians,  as  a  rule,  oppose  this  civil  service  reform,  for  the  reason  that  they 
desire  appointments  to  be  made  as  a  reward  for  party  loyalty.  These  poli- 
ticians are  supported  by  a  small  army  of  partisans  who  aid  in  the  manipulation 
of  party  caucuses  and  conventions  in  the  hope  of  making  personal  gain  out 
of  office-holding.  The  opposition  of  the  professional  politicians  tends  at 
times  to  render  difficult  the  enforcement  of  the  civil  service  laws. 


THE  STATE'S  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT  I73 

Appointive  officers  are,  under  the  State  civil  service  law, 
divided  into  a  "  classified  "  and  an  "  unclassified  "  list.  Most 
of  the  more  prominent  appointive  offices  are  in  the  unclassi- 
fied Hst,  while  the  classified  list  is  made  up  of  minor  offices. 
An  applicant  for  a  position  in  the  classified  list  must  pass 
an  examination  to  determine  his  fitness  for  the  position,  and 
once  appointed  he  cannot  usually  be  removed  from  office 
except  for  good  cause.  Appointments  in  the  State  or  local 
municipal  civil  service  are  made  under  supervision  of,  and 
in  accordance  with  rules  laid  down  by,  the  State  civil  service 
commissioners,  who  have  their  headquarters  at  Albany. 
Different  cities  have  local  boards  of  civil  service  commis- 
sioners, each  acting  under  the  direction  of  the  State  com- 
missioners. 

Some  State  Executive  Officers,  their  Powers  and 
Duties.^ —  The  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Works  has 
general  charge  of  the  construction  and  repair  of  the  State 
canals,  and  he  sees  to  the  execution  of  the  laws  relating  to 
navigation  upon  them. 

The  State  Superintendent  of  Insurance  has  general  super- 
vision of  insurance  companies  doing  business  in  the  State, 
and  these  companies  are  required  to  report  to  him  at  least 
once  a  year  on  their  financial  condition,  for  the  protection 
of  persons  doing  business  with  them. 

The  State  Superintendent  of  Banks  performs  similar  duties 
with  reference  to  banks  and  trust  companies  doing  business 
in  the  State.  These  institutions  report  to  the  superintendent 
of  banks,  and  such  reports,  including  the  reports  from  in- 
surance companies,  are  laid  before  the  State  legislature. 

The  Superintendent  of  State  Prisons  has  the  supervision, 

1  For  a  table  of  public  officers,  their  salaries  and  terms  of  office,  see  Ap- 
pendix. 


174  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

management,  and  control  of  the  State  prisons  in  New  York 
where  persons  convicted  of  grave  crimes  are  confined.  He 
appoints  agents,  wardens,  physicians  and  chaplains  in  these 
prisons,  while  the  State  comptroller  appoints  clerks  employed 
in  them.  Persons  convicted  of  lesser  offenses,  as  we  have 
already  learned,  are  confined  in  the  county  jails,  which  are 
under  the  supervision  of  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties. 

The  Tax  Commissioners  visit  the  different  counties  of  the 
State  to  determine  the  value  of  the  taxable  property  in  each 
county.  The  amount  of  property  upon  which  the  people 
of  each  county  must  pay  State  taxes,  is  finally  determined 
by  the  State  board  of  equalization.  The  duties  of  these 
officers  are  more  fully  explained  in  Chapter  XIX. 

The  Highway  Commissioners  have  oversight  and  control 
of  the  State  and  county  public  roads. 

Two  Public  Service  Commissions^  of  five  members  each, 
one  for  New  York  City  and  the  other  for  the  rest  of  the 
State,  supervise  railroads,  street  railroads,  express,  tele- 
phone, telegraph,  gas  and  electrical  companies.  The  com- 
missioners regulate  charges,  investigate  the  causes  of 
accidents,  and  look  generally  after  the  comfort  and  safety 
of  the  traveling  public.  The  commissioners  may  also 
decide  upon  the  necessity  of  a  proposed  new  railroad  and 
give  permission  for  it  to  be  built.  They  report  annually 
to  the  State  legislature. 

The  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  collects  facts  and  statis- 
tics relating  to  farming,  and  through  his  subordinates  con- 
ducts Farmers'  Institutes,  where  facts  as  to  the  best  methods 
of  cultivation  are  disseminated  among  the  people.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  commissioner's  duties  to  prevent  the  spread  of 
infectious  diseases  among  farm  animals,  fruit  trees  and  bees, 
and  also  to  prevent  the  adulteration  of  food  products. 


THE  STATE'S  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT  I75 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  collects  facts  and  statistics 
relative  to  wages  and  conditions  of  laborers,  and,  in  con- 
junction with  two  deputy  commissioners,  conducts  a  bureau 
of  factory  inspection  and  a  board  of  mediation  and  arbitra- 
tion which  is  empowered  to  give  advice  in  the  settlement 
of  disputes  between  employers  and  employees. 

The  Foresty  Fish  and  Game  Commissioners  have 
charge  of  fish  hatcheries  for  stocking  the  streams  and 
lakes  of  the  State,  and  generally  enforce  the  laws  protect- 
ing fish  and  other  game.  They  also  supervise  the  vast 
quantity  of  wild  forest  land  owned  by  the  State  in  the 
Adirondack  region  and  other  places,  wherein  lie  the 
sources  of  the  streams  which  supply  water  for  the  State 
canals. 

The  State  Board  of  Charities  visits  the  reformatory  and 
charitable  institutions  of  the  State,  and  the  county  and  city 
poorhouses,  where  paupers  are  cared  for  at  public  expense, 
and  reports  on  the  condition  of  these  institutions  to  the  State 
legislature. 

The  State  Commissioner  of  Healthy  the  quarantine  com- 
missioners, and  the  health  officer  of  the  port  of  New  York 
act  together,  under  State  law,  to  prevent  the  introduction 
and  spread  of  disease. 

The  Commissioner  of  Excise  supervises  the  execution  of 
the  liquor  tax  law. 

Executive  Power  Divided. — Since  the  governor  ap- 
points many  executive  or  administrative  officials,  and  under 
certain  conditions  can  remove  them,  he  has  great  influence 
over  the  conduct  of  their  offices.  As  we  have  seen,  how- 
ever, the  important  offices  of  secretary  of  state,  comptroller, 
treasurer,  attorney-general  and  state  engineer  and  surveyor, 
are  filled  by  popular  election ;  after  a  close  election  some 


176  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

of  them  will  be  of  a  different  political  party  from  that  of 
the  governor.  These  important  officers  do  not  form  a 
cabinet  for  the  chief  executive  as  do  the  corresponding 
officers  in  the  United  States  government.  The  executive 
power  of  the  State  is  "  in  commission,"  parceled  out  among 
officers  independent  of  one  another.  Each  is  accountable 
directly  to  the  people,  but  the  arrangement  has  the  dis- 
advantage that  the  administration  of  the  State  government 
may  sometimes  lack  harmony  and  effectiveness. 

SUMMARY. 

The  governor  is  the  head  of  the  State  executive  depart- 
ment, and  the  commander  in  chief  of  the  State's  military 
forces.     He  has  a  veto  poWer  in  the  legislative  department. 

The  governor  is  elected  for  a  term  of  two  years  by  a  plu- 
rality of  the  votes  cast  for  this  office  at  a  State  election. 

The  lieutenant  governor  takes  the  place  of  the  governor 
on  the  death  or  disability  of  the  latter.  He  is  the  presid- 
ing officer  in  the  State  senate,  and  he  has  a  casting  vote  in 
that  body  in  case  of  a  tie. 

Other  executive  officers  who  are  elected  by  the  voters  of 
the  State  are:  secretary  of  state,  comptroller,  treasurer, 
attorney-general,  and  State  engineer  and  surveyor. 

The  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
senate,  appoints  such  State  executive  officers  as  State  super- 
intendent of  public  works,  superintendent  of  banks,  public 
service  commissioners,  etc. 

The  legislature,  in  joint  session,  elects  regents  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  State  militia,  including  the  national  guard,  is  an 
important  feature  of  the  State's  executive  department, 
under  the  control  of  the  governor. 


THE  STATE'S  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  177 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

When  and  by  whom  is  the  governor  of  New  York 
elected  ? 

What  is  meant  by  the  governor's  "  message  "  ? 

What  powers  has  the  governor  in  the  case  of  a  criminal 
convicted  by  the  State  courts  ? 

In  what  cases  is  the  governor  unable  to  exercise  his 
pardoning  power? 

Define  treason  against  the  State. 

What  officers  of  the  executive  department,  besides  gov- 
ernor and  lieutenant  governor,  are  elected  by  the  voters  of 
the  entire  State  ? 

In  what  important  particular  does  the  office  of  secretary 
of  state  in  New  York,  differ  from  the  national  office  of 
secretary  of  state  ? 

How  do  the  duties  of  the  comptroller  differ  from  those 
of  the  State  treasurer  ? 

With  the  duties  of  what  county  officer  may  we  compare 
those  of  the  attorney-general  ? 

Name  six  important  State  executive  officers  appointed  by 
the  governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate. 
What  officers  are  elected  by  the  legislature  ? 

What  is  meant  by  the  State  militia  ?  How  does  it  differ 
from  the  regular  army  ? 

What  is  meant  by  the  State's  civil  service  ?  Describe  the 
duties  of  the  State  civil  service  commissioners.  For  what 
purpose  have  civil  service  examinations  been  instituted  ? 

Describe  the  duties  of  State  superintendent  of  public 
works.  State  superintendent  of  insurance,  State  superin- 
tendent of  banks,  the  public  service  commissions. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Judiciary  Department — How  Criminals  are 
Brought  to  Justice. 

A  PEACEABLE  man  walking  along  the  street,  is  attacked 
by  a  highwayman,  knocked  down,  and  robbed  of  his  purse. 
The  robber  hurries  away,  and  the  injured  man  crawls  to  the 
nearest  house  or  to  the  police  station,  and  tells  the  story  of 
the  crime.  What  is  the  duty  of  the  State  in  such  a  case  ? 
First,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  peace  officers  of  the  vicinity, — 
sheriff,  constables,  or  policemen — to  search  for  the  robber, 
and  if  they  find  him,  to  take  him  before  the  courts  for  the 
trial  of  his  offense. 

Arrest  by  "  Hue  and  Cry." — But  the  robber  may  even 
now  be  running  from  a  pursuing  policeman,  who  saw  from 
a  distance,  his  attack  on  the  citizen.  As  the  policeman 
hurries  after  the  robber,  he  shouts  to  the  people  in  front  of 
him  to  stop  the  fleeing  criminal.  The  law  gives  the  police- 
man the  right  to  demand  this  help,  and  all  persons  called 
upon  are  bound  to  give  it.  With  shouts  of  "  Stop  thief!" 
the  people  take  up  the  pursuit,  and  the  robber  is  cornered 
and  captured.  Such  pursuit  and  capture  is  called  arresting 
a  criminal  by  "  hue  and  cry."  It  comes  down  to  us  from 
an  old  English  custom,  under  which  the  people  turned  out 
with  shouts  and  blowing  horns  to  capture  an  escaping 
criminal. 

Arrest  by  Warrant. — But  suppose  the  robber  escapes 
the  arrest  by  "  hue  and  cry  ".  What  is  to  be  done  ?  The 
178 


I/O  IV  CRIMINALS  ARE  BROUGHT  TO   JUSTICE.       179 

injured  man,  or  some  person  knowing  the  facts,  then  goes 
before  a  magistrate,  such  as  the  judge  of  a  court,  or  a 
mayor,  tells  him  that  a  crime  has  been  committed,  and  de- 
scribes as  best  he  can  the  criminal.  The  magistrate,  if  he 
believes  that  a  crime  has  been  committed,  issues,  in  the 
name  of  and  by  the  authority  of  the  people  of  the  State,  a 
paper  called  a  warrant.  The  warrant  is  directed  to  a  peace 
officer — sheriff,  constable  or  policeman.  It  describes  the 
criminal  and  directs  the  peace  officer  to  arrest  him  and 
bring  him  before  the  magistrate.  The  robber  may  be  dis- 
covered hiding  in  a  building,  by  the  officer  having  the  war- 
rant. Still  having  the  power  to  summon  the  people  to  his 
aid,  the  officer  forces  his  way  into  the  building,  breaking 
down  the  door  if  necessary.  He  may  shoot  the  robber  and 
cripple  him,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  make  him  submit. 
The  law  gives  the  officer  power  even  to  take  the  life  of  the 
criminal,  rather  than  that  he  should  escape,  but  the  officer 
must  use  no  unnecessary  force. 

Rights  of  Accused  Persons. — When  the  prisoner  is 
brought  before  the  magistrate,  he  must  be  told  of  the 
charges  against  him,  and  the  facts  tending  to  prove  their 
truth.  Every  accused  person  is  presumed  by  the  law  to  be 
innocent  until  he  is  proven  guilty,  and  the  prisoner  is  not 
obliged  to  answer  any  questions  that  will  tend  to  prove  his 
guilt.  Such  is  the  rule  inherited  from  the  common  law  of 
England.  The  prisoner  may  be  immediately  examined  by 
the  magistrate,  or  the  magistrate  may,  at  the  request  of  the 
prisoner,  commit  him  to  jail  to  await  a  future  examination 
into  his  offense.  The  magistrate  may  also  commit  the 
prisoner  when  he  finds  himself  unable  to  examine  at  once 
into  the  facts. 

The  Right  of  Bail. — Instead  of  sending  the  prisoner  to 


l8o  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK, 

jail,  the  magistrate  may,  in  certain  cases  described  by  law, 
give  the  prisoner  into  the  keeping  of  his  friends,  on  con- 
dition that  they  give  a  sufficient  pledge  of  money  or 
property  for  the  prisoner's  appearance  in  court  at  a  future 
time  to  answer  the  charges  against  him.  Such  action  on 
the  part  of  a  prisoner  and  his  friends  is  called  "  giving 
bail "  ;  but  a  person  accused  of  a  capital  offense,^  such  as 
murder,  which  is  punishable  by  death,  is  not  allowed  to 
give  bail.  Should  an  accused  person  who  has  given  bail, 
fail  to  appear  in  court  at  the  time  set  for  him  to  answer  the 
charges  against  him,  the  property  pledged  for  his  appear- 
ance  is  forfeited  to  the  State.  But  the  forfeiture  of  the 
money  does  not  protect  the  criminal.  He  may  be  again 
arrested,  and  in  such  case  the  magistrate  would  be  justified 
in  refusing  to  allow  him  to  give  bail  a  second  time. 

Inquiring  into  the  Charge  Against  the  Prisoner. — 
If  the  offense  charged  against  the  prisoner  be  a  minor  one, 
or  one  which  the  magistrate  before  whom  the  prisoner  is 
brought  may  finally  try  and  determine,  the  formal  trial  of 
the  prisoner  may  proceed  without  postponement  or  bail. 
If,  however,  the  offense  charged  be  an  infamous  crime,  or 
one  punishable  by  death,^  it  must  be  formally  inquired  into 
by  a  grand  jury  of  the  county  where  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted. 

"Capital,  from  the  Latin  "caput,"  meaning  "the  head."  Literally  a 
capital  offense  is  one  for  which  the  punishment  is  loss  of  the  head. 

«  Article  I.,  Section  6,  of  the  New  York  State  constitution  says :  "No  per- 
son shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise  infamous  crime  (except 
in  cases  of  impeachment,  and  in  cases  of  militia  when  in  actual  service,  and 
the  land  and  naval  forces  in  time  of  war,  or  which  this  State  may  keep 
with  the  consent  of  Congress  in  time  of  peace,  and  in  cases  of  petit  larceny, 
under  the  regulation  of  the  legislature)  unless  on  presentment  or  indictment 
of  a  grand  jury." 


HOPV  CRIMINALS  ARE  BROUGHT  TO   JUSTICE.       i8i 

The  Grand  Jury. — The  grand  jury  is  a  body  of  men 
selected  from  among  the  taxpayers  of  the  county,  to  in- 
quire into  crimes  supposed  to  have  been  committed  therein. 
The  supervisors  of  the  several  towns  of  the  county  make 
up  a  list  of  300  men  "  of  approved  integrity,  fair  character 
and  sound  judgment,"  each  supervisor  furnishing  names 
in  proportion  to  the  population  of  his  town.  The  names 
are  then  written,  each  on  a  separate  slip  of  paper,  and  put 
into  what  is  called  the  grand  jury  box.  When  a  court  for 
the  trial  of  criminals  is  to  be  held,  the  county  clerk  in  the 
presence  of  the  sheriff  and  county  judge,  draws  at  random 
from  the  grand  jury  box  the  names  of  twenty- four  persons.^ 
These  persons  constitute  the  grand  jury  to  inquire  into" 
crimes  at  a  particular  term  of  court.  Not  more  than 
twenty-three  nor  less  than  sixteen  grand  jurymen  are  allowed 
to  sit  in  any  particular  case,  and  it  takes  the  votes  of  twelve 
to  hold  an  accused  person  for  trial. 

The  Indictment. — The  grand  jury  when  inquiring  into 
the  facts  of  an  alleged  offense,  sits  in  secret  session.  Before 
them  may  come  the  district  attorney,  who  is  the  public 
prosecutor  of  criminals  in  the  county.  He  presents  to  the 
jury  a  written  accusation,  called  a  bill  of  indictment,  con- 
taining the  charges  against  the  person  whose  alleged  offense 
the  jury  is  investigating,  and  brings  witnesses  and  evidence 

^  Thirty-six  in  New  York  county.  In  all  counties  of  the  State  having  a 
population  of  500,000  or  more,  the  duty  of  making  up  the  jury  lists  is  in  the 
hands  of  officers  appointed  by  the  courts  and  known  as  commissioner  of 
jurors  and  special  commissioner  of  jurors.  Chapter  369  of  the  Laws  of 
1895  ^'^°  creates  the  office  of  commissioner  of  jurors  in  each  county  having  a 
population  of  300,000  or  more,  except  New  York  and  Kings  which  already 
had  such  officers;  while  by  chapter  194  of  the  laws  of  1897  ^^  office  of 
commissioner  of  jurors  is  created  in  each  county  having  a  population  between 
150,000  and  190,000,  except  the  county  of  Albany. 


1 82  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

in  support  of  the  charges.  If  twelve  of  the  grand  jury, 
after  hearing  the  evidence  against  the  accused  person,  be- 
Heve  it  to  be  such  as,  if  uncontradicted,  would  warrant  a 
trial  jury  in  convicting  him,  the  foreman  of  the  grand  jury 
writes  across  the  back  of  the  indictment  the  words  "A 
true  bill,"  and  returns  the  indictment  to  the  court.  The 
accused  person  must  now  be  tried  on  the  charges  made  in 
the  indictment.  If  the  grand  jury  does  not  think  the  evi- 
dence sufficient  to  hold  him  for  trial,  the  indictment  is 
returned  to  the  court  endorsed  with  the  words,  "  Not  a  true 
bill."  The  accused  person  is  then  allowed  to  go  free,  or  he 
may  be  held  to  await  a  new  indictment. 

Origin  of  the  Grand  Jury  and  Its  Presentment. — This 
custom  of  formal  presentation  of  a  bill  of  indictment  against 
an  accused  person  through  a  grand  jury,  may  be  traced  to 
a  period  not  very  much  later  than  the  conquest  of  England 
by  William  of  Normandy.*     Almost  immediately  after  the 

>"The  primitive  Teutonic  suit  was  a  simple  demand  made  by  the  actor  on 
the  defendant  for  compensation.  .  .  .  The  demand  and  denial  which 
made  up  the  issue  were  unattended  by  any  tllegations  of  fact  in  support  of 
either.  The  vitally  important  point  in  the  procedure  .  .  .  was  the  ques- 
tion of  proof.  .  .  .  Proof,  as  understood  by  the  Teutonic  barbarian,  was 
not  a  judicial  means  of  bringing  conviction  to  the  mind  of  the  court ;  it  was 
simply  a  satisfaction  due  and  given  by  the  party  to  his  adversary  in  the  form 
prescribed  by  custom.  .  .  .  Three  independent  means  of  proof  were 
allowable — oath,  ordeal  and  documents.  The  oath  could  be  accompanied  or 
supported  by  the  oaths  of  compurgators  or  oath-helpers,  or  by  the  oaths  of 
witnesses.  After  the  party  making  the  proof  had  sworn  to  his  demand,  his 
oath-helpers  swore  to  their  belief,  not  in  their  chiefs  assertion,  but  in  his 
credibility."  .  .  .  But  "  the  conclusion  is  now  firmly  established  that 
out  of  the  inquest  of  proof,  which  was  chiefly  employed  in  judicial  matters 
in  suits  relating  to  rights  in  land,  was  developed  by  the  lawyers  of  the 
Plantagenet  period  the  jury  of  judgment,  the  trial  jury  of  modern  times." — 
Hannis  Taylor,  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution^  Book  I., 
Chapter  V. 


now  CRIMINALS  ARE  BROUGHT  TO  JUSTICE.       183 

conquest,  in  connection  with  juries  of  inquest,  previously 
described,^  we  find  accusatory  juries  presenting  offenses 
committed  within  their  district  or  hundred  to  the  king,  or 
to  his  commissioned  justices,  who  afterwards  tried  the  per- 
sons thus  accused,  convicting  or  discharging  them  accord- 
ing as  the  evidence  showed  their  guilt  or  innocence.  From 
these  ancient  accusatory  juries,  is  probably  also  derived  our 
modern  proceeding  known  as  presentment  by  grand  jury.^ 
In  this  proceeding  the  grand  jury  does  not  wait  for  a  formal 
presentation  to  it  of  a  bill  of  indictment  against  an  accused 
person,  but  the  jury  itself  takes  the  initiative  against  the 
offender,  by  sending  to  the  court  a  written  accusation  known 
as  the  presentment.  The  presentment  is  employed  in  cases 
of  public  nuisance  or  wide-spreading  evils.  On  receiving 
the  presentment  of  a  grand  jury,  the  judge  usually  orders 
an  indictment  to  be  framed,  and  issues  a  warrant  for  the 
arrest  of  the  alleged  offenders. 

Appearance  of  Prisoner  for  Trial. — The  grand  jury,  hav- 
ing returned  to  the  court  the  indictment,  endorsed  with  the 

>  See  Chapter  XI.,  "  Personal  Rights." 

'  Professor  Stubbs  in  his  Constitutional  History  of  England,  Volume  I., 
Chapter  XIII.,  Section  164,  says  that  compurgators  have  nothing  in  common 
with  the  jury  but  the  fact  that  they  swear.  Yet  this  is  a  step  in  the  history 
of  the  jury.  The  first  form  in  which  the  jury  appears  is  that  of  witnesses. 
The  whole  system  of  recognition  by  sworn  inquest  was  introduced  into  Eng- 
land by  the  Normans.  Under  this  system  the  sworn  recognitors  were  rather 
witnesses  than  judges;  they  swore  to  facts  within  their  own  knowledge  ;  the 
magistrate  to  whom  the  inquest  was  entrusted  was  the  inquirer,  and  he  in- 
quired through  the  oath  of  men  sworn  to  speak  the  truth,  and  selected  in 
consequence  of  their  character  and  local  knowledge.  Such  was  the  instru- 
ment introduced  in  its  rough  simplicity  at  the  conquest,  and  developed  by 
the  lawyers  of  the  Plantagenet  period  into  the  modern  trial  jury.  Henry  .II. 
expanded  and  consolidated  the  system.  It  became  under  his  hand  a  part  of 
the  settled  law  of  the  land,  a  resource  open  to  every  suitor. 


l84  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

words  "  A  true  bill,"  the  person  accused  in  the  indictment 
must  now  appear  in  open  court  for  formal  trial  of  the  offense 
charged  against  him.  When  charged  with  a  felony,  that  is, 
with  a  crime  punishable  by  confinement  in  a  State's  prison, 
the  prisoner  must  be  personally  present  in  court ;  when  tried 
for  a  lesser  offense,  or  a  misdemeanor,^  he  need  not  be  pres- 
ent himself  but  may  be  represented  in  court  by  his  lawyers. 
The  complaint  against  the  prisoner  is  made  out  in  the  name 
of  <*  The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York  "  ;  and  the  peo- 
pie,  as  complainant,  are  represented  in  court  by  the  district 
attorney. 

The  Arraignment  and  Plea. — The  prisoner  is  now  ar- 
raigned  in  open  court  before  the  judge.  The  indictment  is 
read  to  him  and  he  is  required  to  answer  to  its  charges. 
The  prisoner  may  plead  that  he  has  been  at  some  former 
trial  in  a  court  of  law,  already  convicted  or  acquitted  of  the 
particular  charge  in  the  indictment ;  and  if  this  is  found  to 
be  true,  the  rule  of  the  constitution  that  no  man  shall  be 
"  twice  put  in  jeopardy  for  the  same  offense  "  applies,  and 
the  prisoner  must  go  free.  If  the  prisoner  plead  "  Guilty  " 
to  the  charge  in  the  indictment,  the  judge  sentences  him  to 
the  punishment  fixed  by  State  law  for  his  crime.  If,  how- 
ever, he  plead  "  Not  guilty  "  to  the  charge,  a  question  of 
fact  arises,  and  the  prisoner  has  a  right  to  demand  that  it 
be  tried  by  a  trial  jury. 

Trial    by   Jury.^ — A    trial    jury    is   a  body   of   twelve 

>  All  crimes  which  are  neither  treason,  directed  against  the  life  of  the 
State,  nor  felony,  are  misdemeanors.  Crimes  may  be  classified  as  felonies 
or  misdemeanors  by  the  State  legislature. 

*  The  jury  of  presentment,  is  also  according  to  Stubbs,  a  creation  of  Henry 
II.  It  was  brought  into  close  connection  with  the  system  of  compurgation, 
the  jurors  who  presented  the  list  of  criminals  representing  the  compurgators 
of  the  accuser.     "  As  a  matter  of  history  it  seems  lawful  to  regard  the  pre- 


HOW  CRIMINALS  ARE  BROUGHT  TO  JUSTICE.       185 

men  '  selected  from  among  the  people  of  the  county,  where  the 
crime  is  committed  or  triable,  and  sworn  to  decide  accord- 
ing to  the  evidence,  the  issue  of  fact  (in  libel  cases  the  issue 
of  law  also)  that  has  arisen  between  the  people  and  the  ac- 
cused. Trial  jurors  are  selected  from  lists  of  property  own- 
ers  furnished  by  the  supervisors,  town  clerks  and  assessors. 
They  must  be  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  seventy, 
must  be  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  residents  of  the 
county  in  which  they  are  drawn  to  serve  as  jurymen.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  selection  of  grand  jurymen,  the  county 
clerk  2  draws  the  names  of  thirty-six  men  to  serve  as  trial 
jurors  at  a  particular  term  of  court;  and  twelve  are  chosen 
as  a  trial  jury  in  a  particular  case.  Before  this  jury  the 
district  attorney  presents  the  people's  case  against  the  per- 
son accused.  The  prisoner  defends  himself  through  his 
lawyer,  who  is  an  officer  of  the  court,  producing  the  evi- 
dence of  witnesses,  if  he  has  any,  in  support  of  his  defense. 

sentment  as  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the  local  courts  for  which  an  immemorial 
antiquity  may  be  claimed,  with  at  least  a  strong  probability."  The  same 
author  also  says  that  at  an  early  period,  before  the  abolition  of  the  trial  by 
ordeal,  by  the  Lateran  Council  of  121 5,  a  petit  jury  was  allowed  to  disprove 
the  truth  of  the  presentment,  and  after  the  abolition  of  the  ordeal  that  ex- 
pedient  came  into  general  use.  The  further  change  in  the  character  of  the 
jury,  by  which  they  became  judges  of  fact  instead  of  witnesses,  is  common  to 
the  civil  and  criminal  jury  alike.  "  As  it  became  difficult  to  find  jurors  per- 
sonally well  informed  as  to  the  point  at  issue,  the  jurors  summoned  were 
allowed  at  first  to  add  to  their  number  persons  who  possessed  the  requisite 
knowledge,  under  the  title  of  AfForcement.  After  this  proceeding  had  been 
some  time  in  use  the  afforcing  jurors  were  separated  from  the  uninformed 
jurors,  and  relieved  them  altogether  from  their  character  of  witnesses.  The 
verdict  of  the  jury  no  longer  represented  their  previous  knowledge  of  the 
case,  but  the  result  of  the  evidence  afforded  by  witnesses  of  the  fact ;  and 
they  became  accordingly  judges  of  the  fact,  the  law  being  declared  by  the 
presiding  officer  acting  in  the  king's  name." 

1  Six  in  courts  of  a  justice  of  the  peace.  2  See  note  page  181. 


i86  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK, 

Poor  prisoners  unable  to  hire  a  lawyer  are  assigned  one  by 
the  court  to  help  in  their  defense;  and  when  it  can  be 
shown  that  there  is  a  probability  of  the  people  of  a  county 
being  so  prejudiced  against  the  prisoner  that  a  jury  of  the 
county  cannot  render  a  fair  and  impartial  decision,  a  trial 
jury  may  be  selected  from  an  adjoining  county ;  or  the  trial 
itself  may  be  removed  to  another  county.  Such  removal  is 
called  "  a  change  of  venue."  ^     ^ 

The  Judge's  "  Charge." — The  judge  rules  upon  questions 
of  law  as  they  arise  in  the  trial  of  the  prisoner ;  and  at  the 
close  of  the  trial  "  charges  "  the  jury,  explaining  the  law 
governing  the  matter  and  reviewing  any  evidence  which  he 
thinks  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  subject. 

The  Verdict. — The  jury  then  retires  behind  closed  doors, 
and  deliberates  in  secret  upon  the  probable  guilt  or  inno- 
cence  of  the  prisoner.  The  agreement  of  the  entire  twelve 
jurymen  is  necessary  to  convict  or  acquit  the  prisoner.  The 
jury  must  find  the  prisoner  "Not  guilty,"  if  after  hearing  all 
the  evidence  its  members  have  a  reasonable  doubt  of  his 
guilt.  The  formal  decision  of  a  trial  jury,  delivered  in  open 
court,  for  or  against  a  prisoner,  is  called  "  The  Verdict  of 
the  Jury."  If  a  trial  jury  cannot  agree  upon  a  verdict  of 
"  Guilty  "  or  •♦  Not  guilty,"  the  accused  person  must  have 
another  trial  before  a  new  jury,  till  he  is  either  convicted  or 
acquitted. 

The  Sentence. — After  a  verdict  of  "  Guilty  "  the  judge 
pronounces  upon  the  prisoner,  the  sentence  fixed  by  State 
law  as  a  punishment  for  his  offense.  The  judge  is  usually 
allowed  to  use  his  judgment  as  to  whether  the  prisoner  shall 
be  made  to  suffer  a  maximum  or  a  minimum  penalty.     Old 

*  Venue  is  from  the  Latin  "  vicinia,"  or  the  Norman  French,  "  visne," 
meaning  neighborhood. 


HOW  CRIMINALS  ARE  BROUGHT  TO  JUSTICE.      187 

and  hardened  offenders  are  usually  given  the  maximum 
penalty  allowed  by  the  law,  while  young  criminals,  whose 
offenses  are  accompanied  by  mitigating  circumstances,  are 
given  a  penalty  less  than  the  maximum.  In  some  cases  the 
judge  suspends  the  enforcement  of  the  sentence  during  the 
good  behavior  of  the  person  convicted.  If  the  verdict  of  the 
jury  be  "  Not  guilty,"  the  judge  discharges  the  prisoner,  and 
he  cannot  be  tried  again  for  the  offense. 

Appeals. — A  prisoner  may  appeal  from  a  jury's  verdict 
of  "  Guilty  "  to  a  higher  court,  and  ask  for  a  new  trial  of  his 
case,  on  the  ground  of  error  committed  in  the  first  trial,  or 
of  a  verdict  not  in  accordance  with  the  law  or  the  evidence. 
The  higher  court  appealed  to,  after  reviewing  the  proceed- 
ings in  the  lower  court,  will,  if  it  thinks  no  error  has  been 
committed,  dismiss  the  appeal,  in  which  case  the  prisoner 
must  suffer  the  penalty  imposed  by  the  judge's  sentence  in 
the  lower  court.  But  if  the  higher  court  finds  the  error 
complained  of  it  will  order  a  new  trial  of  the  prisoner  before 
the  lower  court. 

These  proceedings  in  the  trial  of  criminals  have  most  of 
them  come  down  to  us,  either  directly  or  in  a  modified 
form,  from  the  customs  of  the  early  English  law.  Taken 
together,  they  constitute  the  "  due  process  of  law  "  of  our 
State  constitution,  without  which  no  person  may  be  de- 
prived of  his  life,  liberty,  or  property.  They  also  show  the 
exceeding  care  with  which  the  descendants  of  our  free 
Teutonic  ancestors  guard  the  sacred  personal  liberty  of  even 
the  worst  of  criminals,  that  no  wrong  may  be  done  to  any 
person.  Here  we  see  what  is  meant  by  the  famous  clause 
of  Magna  Charta,  repeated  in  so  many  charters  and  constitu- 
tions of  the  English-speaking  people,  that  "No  freeman 
shall  be  taken,  or  imprisoned,  or  outlawed,  or  brought  to 


l88  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

ruin,  unless  by  the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the 
law  of  the  land." 

Duty  of  Citizens. — Jurors  receive  pay  by  the  day,  or 
sometimes  a  certain  sum  for  each  case  on  which  they 
serve.  The  pay  is  not  large,  and  for  many  men  the  call 
to  jury  service  means  inconvenience  and  financial  loss. 
Nevertheless  it  is  their  duty  to  serve,  for  the  good  of  the 
State,  which  keeps  its  courts  open  to  all.  Judges  have 
discretion  to  excuse  men  in  cases  of  special  hardship. 
Certain  classes  of  men,  also,  are  by  law  entirely  exempt 
from  jury  duty:  namely,  clergymen,  certain  State  officers 
and  employees,  physicians,  druggists,  lawyers,  college  and 
academy  teachers,  editors  and  reporters  of  daily  papers, 
certain  employees  on  railroads  and  steamboats,  members 
of  fire  companies  or  of  the  National  Guard,  or  men  who 
have  served  therein  for  five  years,  and  some  others. 

Perjury. — Jurors  must  make  solemn  oath  or  affirma- 
tion that  they  will  perform  their  duty  truly  and  faithfully. 
Witnesses  are  required  to  swear  (or  affirm)  that  they  will 
tell  the  truth,  and  similar  formalities  are  observed  in  sign- 
ing various  legal  documents.  The  violation  of  such  an 
oath  or  affirmation  is  perjury,  and  is  punished  as  a  crime. 

SUMMARY. 

Offenders  against  the  law  are  arrested  by  the  officers  of 
the  executive  department,  and  are  tried  before  the  courts 
of  the  judiciary  department. 

A  person  accused  of  crime  is  held  to  be  innocent  until 
proven  to  be  guilty.  He  has  the  right,  in  many  instances, 
when  arrested,  to  "give  bail "  for  his  future  appearance  in 
court  to  answer  the  charges  against  him. 


HOW  CRIMINALS  ARE  BROUGHT   TO  JUSTICE.       189 

Charges  of  infamous  crime  against  a  person  must  be  pre- 
sented in  the  form  of  an  indictment  by  a  district  attorney 
to  a  grand  jury  of  the  county  where  the  offense  is  triable. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

Describe  two  ways  in  which  a  criminal  may  be  arrested. 

What  is  a  warrant  of  arrest  ?  By  whom  is  it  issued  ? 
What  facts  must  it  contain  ?     To  whom  is  it  directed  ? 

Describe  the  right  of  bail.  For  what  offenses  are  prison- 
ers not  allowed  to  give  bail } 

What  is  a  grand  jury  }  How  is  it  selected  ?  Describe 
its  duties. 

State  the  difference  between  a  bill  of  indictment  and  a 
presentment. 

What  is  meant  by  the  "  prisoner's  plea  "  } 

Describe  the  trial  jury.  Tell  how  it  is  selected.  De- 
scribe its  duties  in  court,  on  the  trial  of  a  prisoner. 

Explain  the  meaning  of  "judge's  charge,"  "verdict,'* 
"sentence,"  "appeal,"  as  used  in  trials  at  law.  When  will 
a  higher  court  order  a  new  trial } 

Why  ought  a  man  not  to  shirk  jury  duty  ? 

What  is  perjury } 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

On  the  origin  of  the  jury,  see  Green's  Short  History  of  the 
English  People^  Chapter  II.,  Section  8,  "Trial  by  Jury,"  and  the  same 
work,  Chapter  IV.,  Section  4,  "The  English  Towns."  See  also  the 
works  of  Stubbs  and  Hannis  Taylor  on  the  constitutional  history  of 
England,  under  the  index  title  "  jury." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Judiciary  Department — Civil  Suits  at  Law. 

Two  farmers,  living  side  by  side,  have  a  dispute  about  the 
division  hne  between  their  farms.  Each  claims  to  own  the 
same  piece  of  land;  each  believes  himself  right;  neither 
will  yield,  and  there  is  a  long  and  bitter  quarrel.  Who  is  to 
decide  the  matter  finally  and  put  the  rightful  owner  into 
possession  of  his  property  ?  If  the  farmers  can  come  to  no 
agreement,  they  may  take  the  matter  into  a  court  of  law. 
Here  each  will  present  the  facts  supporting  his  own  claim  to 
the  land,  with  the  testimony  of  any  witnesses  in  his  favor, 
and  leave  the  truth  to  be  determined  by  process  of  law. 
Such  a  suit  at  law,  involving  the  ownership  of  property,  is 
called  a  civil  suit,  to  distinguish  it  from  a  criminal  suit,  such 
as  described  in  the  last  chapter.  Much  of  the  time  of  the 
judiciary  officers  of  State  and  local  governments  is  spent  in 
hearing  and  determining  the  facts  in  civil  suits  at  law. 

Proceedings  in  Civil  Suits  at  Law. — The  person  who 
begins  a  civil  suit  at  law  is  called  the  plaintiff.  In  a  paper 
called  the  complaint,  he  presents  to  the  court  an  outline  of 
the  facts  in  support  of  his  claim,  and  prays  that  the  judg- 
ment of  the  court  may  be  given  in  his  favor.  The  person 
opposed  to  the  plaintiff  in  the  suit  is  called  the  defendant. 
In  a  written  answer  the  defendant  opposes  the  claim  of  the 
plaintiff.  Should  the  defendant  fail  to  answer  the  complaint, 
and  should  he  fail  to  appear  in  court,  after  he  has  been 
served  with  a  legal  paper  called  a  summons,  in  which  he  is 
190 


CIVIL   SUITS  AT  LAW.  191 

ordered  to  appear  and  answer,  the  plaintiff  may  prove  the 
truth  of  his  claim,  by  the  testimony  of  himself  and  his  wit- 
nesses ;  after  which  the  judge  will  order  the  sheriff  or  other 
executive  officers  to  put  him  in  possession  of  the  rights 
which  were  in  dispute.  If,  however,  the  defendant  answers 
the  plaintiff's  complaint,  denying  its  statements,  an  issue  of 
fact  arises,  the  truth  of  which  may  be  determined,  as  in  a 
criminal  suit,  by  a  trial  jury.  The  jury  after  hearing  both 
sides,  gives  its  verdict,  and  the  judge  orders  the  party  found 
to  be  in  the  right,  to  be  put  in  possession  of  the  disputed 
property. 

The  Courts  as  Interpreters  of  the  Law. — Besides  de- 
ciding questions  in  dispute  between  individuals,  the  courts 
are  often  called  upon  to  decide  on  the  meaning  and  ap- 
plication of  various  laws.  A  bill  passes  the  legislature  and 
is  signed  by  the  governor,  in  which  different  persons  who 
are  interested  in  the  rights  affected  by  it,  read  quite  differ- 
ent meanings.  One  man  understands  the  statute^  to  mean 
one  thing ;  another  quite  a  different  thing.  Who  is  to  decide 
what  it  really  does  mean  ?  As  in  the  case  of  the  farmer's 
dispute  over  the  land,  the  courts  must  decide ;  and  a  de- 
cision is  obtained  by  some  one  bringing  a  suit  to  determine 
his  rights  under  the  disputed  law. 

Statutes  May  Be  "Constitutional"  or  "Unconstitu- 
tional."— Suppose,  for  example,  the  State  legislature  passes 
a  bill  declaring  the  business  of  slaughtering  animals  within 
any  city  to  be  a  nuisance,  dangerous  to  the  health  of  the 
people,  and  orders  such  slaughtering  stopped.  Butchers, 
who  have  built  large  and  expensive  slaughterhouses,  sud- 
denly find  themselves  deprived  of  the  lawful  right  to  use 

»  A  bill  after  passing  the  legislature,  and  being  signed  by  the  governor,  is 
called  a  statute. 


192  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 

their  property.  If  they  obey  the  law  they  must  sell  or  dis- 
pose  of  their  buildings  as  best  they  can,  and  remove  their 
business  outside  the  city.  But  perhaps  they  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  the  prohibitory  statute.  In  that  case  a  suit  may  be 
brought  against  the  butchers  by  the  district  attorney,  charg- 
ing them  with  violating  the  law.  The  butchers  may  defend 
the  suit,  pleading  that  the  statute  prohibiting  slaughtering  is 
not  in  accordance  with  the  fundamental  law ;  that  they  are 
being  deprived  of  their  property  without  the  "  due  process 
of  law  "  required  by  the  constitution.  An  issue  of  law  now 
arises  between  the  people  of  the  State  and  the  butchers, 
which  must  be  decided  by  the  courts.  If  the  highest  court, 
having  the  right  to  try  and  determine  the  matter  decides 
the  statute  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  constitution,  the 
butchers  must  close  up  their  slaughterhouses,  or  take  them 
outside  the  city  limits.  But  if  the  court  decides  the  statute 
to  be  not  in  accord  with  the  constitution,  it  is  void,  and  no 
man  is  bound  to  obey  it. 

Courts  Enumerated— Courts  of  Justices  of  the  Peace.— 
Let  us  briefly  consider  the  different  courts,  established  by 
the  people  of  the  State,  to  do  the  important  work  above  de- 
scribed. 

The  lowest  courts — and  those  nearest  to  the  people— are 
the  courts  presided  over  by  justices  of  the  peace.  The  peo- 
ple of  each  town  elect  four  justices  of  the  peace  for  terms  of 
four  years  each.  This  is  required  by  State  law.  A  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  holds  two  courts — a  court  for  the  trial  of 
civil  suits,  called  a  Justice's  Court ;  and  a  court  for  the  trial 
of  petty  criminals,  called  a  Court  of  Special  Sessions.  As 
a  general  rule  no  civil  suit  may  be  tried  in  a  justice's  court, 
when  the  amount  sued  for  exceeds  $2QO.  In  courts  of  spe- 
cial sessions  certain  small  offenses  enumerated  by  State  law 


CIVIL   SUITS  AT  LAW.  193 

may  be  tried,  but  persons  accused  of  crime  before  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  usually  give  bail  to  await  the  action  of  a  grand 
jury  in  a  higher  court.  Issues  of  fact  in  a  court  presided 
over  by  a  justice  of  the  peace,  are  determined  by  a  justice's 
jury,  composed  of  six  citizens  and  freeholders  of  the  town. 
The  constable  summons  twelve  men  from  the  jury  list  of  the 
town,  to  appear  in  court,  and  six  of  them  are  drawn  to  sit  in 
a  particular  case.  Justices  of  the  peace  are  paid  in  "  fees," 
fixed  by  State  law,  for  services  performed. 

County  Courts. — The  court  next  above  those  of  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  is  the  county  court,  and  an  appeal  from  the 
decision  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  may  be  heard  before  the 
county  judge,  who  presides  over  the  county  court ;  but  the 
principal  business  of  the  county  court  is  in  trying  cases  too 
important  to  be  heard  in  the  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace. 
Each  of  the  sixty-one  counties  of  the  State,  except  New 
York  county,  ^  has  a  county  court  presided  over  by  a  county 
judge,  who  is  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years  by  the  voters  of 
his  county,  and  who  is  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury.  The 
county  judges  receive  different  salaries,  fixed  by  State  law,  in 
the  different  counties.  All  crimes,  except  those  punishable 
by  death,  may  be  tried  in  a  county  court.  Civil  suits,  in 
which  the  sum  sued  for  does  not  exceed  ;^2,ooo,  may  be 
tried  in  a  county  court.  Issues  of  fact  in  a  county  court  are 
determined  by  a  trial  jury  of  twelve  men  selected  as  in  the 
case  of  a  criminal  trial. 

'  The  Court  of  General  Sessions  in  New  York  county  and  the  City  Court  of 
New  York  take  the  place  of  a  county  court.  The  former  has  jurisdiction 
mainly  in  criminal  cases,  including  crimes  punishable  by  death,  and  the  lat- 
ter in  civil  cases  where  the  amount  sued  for  does  not  exceed  ^2,000. 
King's  county  has  two  county  judges  and  the  jurisdiction  of  its  county  court 
extends  to  crimes  punishable  by  death. 


194  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 

The  Supreme  Court. — Next  above  the  county  court  is 
the  supreme  court.  This  is  in  many  respects  the  most  im- 
portant court  of  the  State.  Before  it  may  be  tried  all  grave 
crimes  against  the  laws  of  the  State  and  all  important  civil 
suits.  For  convenience  in  administering  justice  through 
the  supreme  court,  the  State  is  divided  into  four  judicial  de- 
partments,  and  these  in  turn  are  divided  into  nine  judicial 
districts.  The  first  j  udicial  department  and  the  first  j  udicial 
district  are  co-extensive,  and  embrace  the  county  of  New 
York.  The  second  judicial  department  includes  the  second 
judicial  district  (embracing  Kings,  Queens,  Richmond, 
Nassau  and  Suffolk  counties)  and  the  ninth  judicial  dis- 
trict (embracing  Rockland,  Westchester,  Putnam,  Orange 
and  Dutchess  counties).  The  third  judicial  department 
includes  the  third,  fourth,  and  sixth  judicial  districts;  and 
the  fourth  judicial  department,  the  fifth,  seventh,  and  eighth 
judicial  districts.^  There  are  ninety-seven  supreme  court 
judges,  and  they  are  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  nine 
judicial  districts  for  terms  of  fourteen  years  each,  as  fol- 
lows :  First  district,  thirty  judges ;  second  district,  seven- 
teen judges;  third,  fourth,  and  sixth  districts,  six  judges 

1  The  third  judicial  department  includes  the  third  judicial  district,  embrac- 
ing Columbia,  Rensselaer,  Sullivan,  Ulster,  Albany,  Green,  and  Schoharie 
counties ;  the  fourth  judicial  district  embracing  Warren,  Saratoga,  St.  Law- 
rence, Washington,  Essex,  Clinton,  Franklin,  Montgomery,  Hamilton,  Ful- 
ton, and  Schenectady  counties ;  and  the  sixth  judicial  district  embracing 
Otsego,  Delaware,  Madison,  Chenango,  Tompkins,  Broome,  Chemung, 
Schuyler,  Tioga,  and  Cortland  counties.  The  fourth  judicial  department  in- 
cludes the  fifth  judicial  district  embracing  Onondaga,  Jefferson,  Oneida, 
Oswego,  Herkimer,  and  Lewis  counties ;  the  seventh  judicial  district  em- 
bracing Livingston,  Ontario,  Wayne,  Yates,  Steuben,  Seneca,  Cayuga,  and 
Monroe  counties ;  and  the  eighth  judicial  district  embracing  Erie,  Chautau- 
qua, Cattaraugus,  Orleans,  Niagara,  Genesee,  Allegany,  and  Wyoming  coun- 
ties. 


196  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

each;  fifth  district,  eight  judges ;  seventh  district,  seven 
judges;  eighth  district,  twelve  judges;  ninth  district,  five 
judges. 

Supreme  Court — Trial  and  Special  Terms. — In  each 
county  of  the  State  there  are  held  at  certain  designated 
times,  trial  terms  of  the  supreme  court,  each  presided  over 
by  a  single  supreme  court  judge.  At  these  trial  terms  civil 
and  criminal  cases  are  tried  with  the  aid  of  a  trial  jury. 
Civil  suits  are  also  tried  by  the  judge  without  the  aid  of  a 
jury,  if  the  parties  to  the  suit  so  agree.  In  each  county 
also  the  supreme  court  holds  special  terms,  presided  over  by 
a  single  judge,  who  hears  and  decides  various  legal  motions 
without  the  aid  of  a  jury.  The  supreme  court,  both  at  trial 
term  and  special  term,  acts  as  a  court  of  original  jurisdiction, 
that  is,  it  hears  cases  and  motions  originally  presented"  to  it 
and  not  on  appeal  from  the  decisions  of  the  lower  courts. 

Supreme  Court — Appellate  Division. — In  each  of  the 
four  judicial  departments  there  is  an  appellate  division  of 
the  supreme  court,  composed  of  certain  judges  selected  by 
the  governor  from  among  the  ninety-seven  supreme  court 
judges  of  the  State.  Seven  judges  constitute  the  appellate 
division  in  the  first  judicial  department,  and  five  constitute 
the  appellate  division  in  each  of  the  other  departments. 
The  appellate  division  of  the  first  department  sits  in  the 
city  of  New  York  (borough  of  Manhattan)  ;  the  second 
department,  in  the  borough  of  Brooklyn  ;  the  third  depart- 
ment, at  Albany ;  and  the  fourth  department,  at  Rochester. 
Terms  of  this  court  may  be  held  in  other  places  whenever 
the  judges  of  a  department  deem  that  the  public  interests 
will  be  served  thereby.  Appeals  from  decisions  of  the 
county  courts,  and  from  the  trial  and  special  terms  of  the 
supreme  court,  in  any  judicial  department,  are  heard  in  the 


COURTS.  197 

appellate  division  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  department 
Judges  of  the  appellate  division  are  appointed  for  terms  of 
five  years  each. 

The  Court  of  Appeals. — Highest  above  all  these  courts, 
and  the  court  of  last  resort  in  questions  arising  under  the 
State  law,  is  the  court  of  appeals.  This  court  is  composed 
of  seven  justices — one  chief  justice  and  six  associate  justices, 
elected  by  the  voters  of  the  entire  State  for  terms  of  four- 
teen years  each,  at  annual  salaries  of  ;^  13,700  each,  (the  chief 
justice,  ^14,200);  and  the  governor  may  appoint  not  more 
than  four  supreme  court  judges  to  sit  temporarily  as  asso- 
ciate justices  in  this  court.  The  court  of  appeals  reviews 
questions  of  law  brought  up  to  it  from  the  appellate  divi- 
sions of  the  supreme  court.  No  questions  of  fact  are  re- 
viewed by  the  court  of  appeals,  except  in  criminal  cases 
where  the  sentence  is  death.  Five  justices  of  the  court  of 
appeals  constitute  a  quorum,  and  the  concurrence  of  at  least 
four  is  necessary  to  a  decision.  The  decisions  of  the  court  of 
appeals,  with  the  arguments  and  explanations  of  its  judges, 
constitute  the  final  interpretation  of  the  law  of  the  State. 
There  is  no  higher  court  in  the  land,  except  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States. 

Coroners*  and  Surrogates'  Courts. — Besides  the  courts 
above  described,  there  is  in  each  county  a  coroner's  court, 
held  for  the  purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  causes  of  sudden 
and  suspicious  deaths.  The  coroner  may  summon  witnesses 
before  him  and  examine  them,  and  he  may  issue  a  war- 
rant for  the  arrest  of  any  person  who  may  be  charged  with 
the  commission  of  the  crime  under  investigation.  Coroners 
formerly  had  power  to  summon  a  jury  in  connection  with 
their  investigations  which  are  termed  "  Coroner's  Inquests  "  ; 
but  this   power  was  abolished  by  State  law  in  1 899,  except 


198  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

in  case  of  inquests  held  in  a  county  situated  wholly  or 
partly  in  a  city  of  the  first  class,  when  not  less  than  nine  nor 
more  than  fifteen  persons,  qualified  to  serve  as  jurors,  may 
be  summoned  by  the  coroner. 

Each  county  has  a  court  presided  over  by  a  surrogate 
who  takes  proof  of  the  wills  of  deceased  persons,  and  at- 
tends to  the  settlement  and  division  of  the  estates  of  per- 
sons who  die  without  having  made  a  will.  This  court  also 
appoints  guardians  for  the  care  of  the  persons  and  property 
of  minors.  In  counties  having  a  population  of  less  than 
forty  thousand,  the  county  judge  performs  the  duties  of 
surrogate. 

Courts  "  of  Record  "  and  "  Not  of  Record."— A  number 
of  cities  also  have  minor  civil  and  criminal  courts  specially 
allowed  them  by  State  law.^  The  surrogate's  court,  county 
court,  supreme  court  and  court  of  appeals  are  Courts  of 
Record.  That  is,  each  has  its  official  seal  and  an  official 
clerk,  who  keeps  a  detailed  record  of  its  proceedings. 
Courts  of  justices  of  the  peace,  coroner's  courts,  and  most 
minor  courts  of  cities,  are  designated  as  Courts  Not  of 
Record. 

The  Court  for  the  Trial  of  Impeachments.'— Differing 
from  the  law  courts  above  described,  is  the  court  for  the 
trial  of  impeachments.  This  court  tries,  and  if  found 
guilty,  removes  from  office  high  public  officials,  especially 
judges,  who,  by  reason  of  their  offenses,  are  no  longer  fit 
to  serve  the  people  in  the  offices  which  they  hold.  Im- 
peachment cases  are  brought  by  the  assembly  and  are  tried 
before  the  State  senate  and  its  president,  and  the  judges  of 

>  The  courts   of  the   city  of   New  York  are  described  in   Chapter  VI., 
«  Greater  New  York." 
'     «See  also  Chapter  XIV.,  "The  Legislature." 


COURTS.  199 

the  court  of  appeals,  sitting  together  as  a  court  of  impeach- 
ment. A  two-thirds  vote  of  this  court  is  necessary  to  con- 
vict and  remove  an  official  from  office.  When  the  governor 
or  lieutenant  governor  is  tried  before  the  court  for  the  trial 
of  impeachments,  the  latter  official  does  not,  for  obvious 
reasons,  sit  as  a  member  of  the  court. 

Court  of  Claims. — A  State  cannot  be  sued  in  a  court  of 
law  by  one  of  its  own  citizens,  or  by  the  citizens  of  another 
State ;  but  any  one  having  a  claim  against  the  State  may 
take  it  to  the  court  of  claims,  and  if  the  court  finds  the  claim 
to  be  valid,  it  must  be  paid  after  deducting  any  just  claim 
of  the  State.  This  court  consists  of  three  judges  of  claims 
appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  senate,  for  terms  of  ten  years  each,  at  annual 
salaries  of  ;^8,ooo  each.  The  court  of  claims  holds  four  ses- 
sions a  year  at  the  State  capitol  at  Albany.^  Appeals  from 
its  decisions  may  be  made  to  the  appellate  division  of  the 
supreme  court.  A  State  may  be  sued  however  by  another 
State,  the  suit  being  brought  in  a  United  States  court ;  but 
no  private  person  is  allowed  to  bring  suit  against  any  one 
of  the  United  States. 

General  Provisions. — No  judge  of  the  court  of  appeals  or 
of  the  supreme  court  may  hold  at  the  same  time  another 
public  office,  and  no  judge  except  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
may  accept  any  fee  for  the  performance  of  his  public  duties. 
This  latter  provision  is  intended  to  keep  the  judges  free 
from  the  temptation  to  entertain  any  legal  proceedings,  or 
to  perform,  as  judges,  any  acts  that  might  increase  their 
own  personal  incomes.  No  person  may  hold  the  office  of 
judge  longer  than  until  and  including  the  last  day  of  Decem- 
ber next  after  he  shall  be  seventy  years  of  age. 

» Laws  of  1897,  Chapter  36. 


aoo  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

SUMMARY. 

Besides  trying  persons  accused  of  crime,  the  courts  of  the 
judiciary  department  hear  and  determine  questions  of  private 
rights  in  dispute  between  individuals. 

Questions  of  private  rights  are  brought  before  the  courts 
in  civil  suits  at  law,  in  which  the  aggrieved  person  is  the 
plaintiff,  and  his  opponent  is  the  defendant. 

The  courts  also  act  as  interpreters  of  the  law,  and  they 
decide  whether  or  not  statutes  enacted  by  the  legislature 
are  in  accord  with  the  constitution. 

The  courts,  beginning  with  the  lowest,  include  in  regular 
order,  courts  of  justices  of  the  peace  and  the  local  courts  of 
cities,  county  courts,  the  supreme  court  and  the  court  of 
appeals. 

Appeals  are  made  from  decisions  of  the  lower  courts  to 
the  higher  courts. 

The  courts  also  include  a  coroner's  and  surrogate's  court 
in  each  county,  the  State  court  of  claims,  and  the  court  for 
the  trial  of  impeachments. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  is  a  civil  suit  at  law  ?  How  does  it  differ  from  a 
criminal  trial  ? 

Explain  the  meaning  of  the  word  plaintiff.  Defendant. 
Summons.     Issue  of  fact. 

Under  what  circumstances  and  by  whom  may  a  statute 
of  New  York  be  legally  declared  to  be  unconstitutional? 
Must  an  unconstitutional  statute  be  formally  repealed  by  the 
legislature  ? 

Give  an  account  of  the  two  courts  of  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  How  many  and  what  persons  may  constitute  a  jury- 
in  the  court  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  ? 


CHAPTER   XVni. 

The  Public  Schools. 

The  laws  of  New  York  require  the  children  living  within 
the  State  to  attend  some  school  regularly.  Under  these 
laws  public  schools  have  been  opened  in  every  part  of  the 
State,  where  free  instruction  is  given  to  residents  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years.  Should  any  child 
between  the  ages  of  seven  and  sixteen  years/  able  to  go  to 
school,  fail  to  attend  one  of  these  free  public  schools,  his 
parent  or  guardian  must  show  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
school  officers,  that  the  child  is  receiving  regular  instruc- 
tion elsewhere,  equivalent  to  the  instruction  in  the  free 
public  schools. 

Why  does  the  law  provide  for  free  public  schools,  and 
compel  the  children  of  the  State  to  attend  regularly  some 
school  ?  Because  every  male  citizen,  twenty-one  years  old 
and  over,  and  otherwise  qualified,  has  been  given  the  right 
to  vote  at  public  elections  held  within  the  State.  At  these 
elections  public  officers  are  chosen  to  make,  mterpret  and 
enforce  the  State  laws.  Thus  every  voter,  as  he  puts  his 
ballot  into  the  box  on  election  day,  helps  to  determine  the 
kind  of  government  under  which  we  all  live.  It  is  su- 
premely important  that  the  voter  shall  be  sufficiently  in- 
telligent and  well-informed  to  cast  a  ballot  for  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  State.  Such  inteUigence  and  information  the 
State  aims  to  develop  by  its  system  of  free  public  schools, 
and  its  law  requiring  the  children  to  attend  school. 

The  State's  Public  School  System. — The  free  public 

^  With  exceptions  noted  on  pages  208-209. 

201 


202  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

schools  of  New  York  are  carried  on  under  both  State  and 
local  laws.  The  State  constitution  ^  directs  the  legislature 
to  "  provide  for  the  maintenance  and  support  of  a  system  of 
free  common  schools,  wherein  all  the  children  of  this  State 
may  be  educated."  This  has  been  done  in  the  cities  and 
larger  villages,  by  placing  provisions  in  their  charters,  pro- 
viding for  free  public  schools  to  be  carried  on  under  the  di- 
rection of  a  local  board  of  education  and  a  local  superintend- 
ent of  schools.  Outside  of  the  cities  and  larger  villages  the 
territory  of  the  state  is  divided  into  supervisory  districts, 
each  under  an  officer  known  as  the  District  Superintend- 
ent.2  A  district  superintendent  is  chosen  every  five  years 
by  a  board  of  school  directors  consisting  of  two  directors 
elected  by  each  town  in  the  district.  The  district  superin- 
tendent has  general  supervision,  subject  to  State  law,  of  the 
free  common  schools  within  his  district.  Every  supervisory 
district  is  in  turn  divided  into  school  districts,  in  each  of 
which  there  is  maintained  a  free  common  school,  supported 
partly  by  the  people  of  the  district  and  partly  by  the  State. 
These  are  the  schools  carried  on  in  the  **  little  red  school- 
houses  "  that  dot  the  hillsides  and  stand  like  sentinels  at  the 
country  crossroads,  each  under  its  own  proudly  waving 
"stars  and  stripes,"  all  over  the  Empire  State.  Over  all 
these  district  superintendents,  school  districts,  boards  of 
education,  city  and  country  schools  —  there  is  a  State  com- 
missioner of  education  (p.  211),  who  is  the  head  of  the  free 
school  system  of  the  State  and  the  last  resort  in  all  disputes 
affecting  the  public  schools. 

The  District  Superintendent  and  His  Duties.— Every 

1  Article  IX.,  Section  i. 

2  Beginning  with  19 1 2.     Before  then,  a  school  commissioner,  instead,  was 
elected  by  the  people  in  each  county  or  commissioner's  district. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  203 

county  in  the  State,  outside  of  those  composing  New  York 
City,  has  one  or  more  supervisory  districts,  lying  wholly 
within  the  county.  The  district  superintendent  is  partly 
a  State  and  partly  a  local  officer.  The  State,  through  the 
commissioner  of  education,  pays  each  superintendent  a 
salary  of  ;^I200  annually,^  and  the  supervisors  of  the  towns 
in  his  district  may  by  majority  vote  increase  his  salary,  the 
increase  being  paid  by  taxes  levied  on  the  towns  in  the 
district. 

It  is  the  superintendent's  duty  to  supervise  the  free 
common  schools  of  his  district  and  to  see  that  proper  in- 
struction and  discipline  are  maintained  in  them.  He  may 
form  new  school  districts  in  his  supervisory  district,  and 
under  certain  restrictions  may  alter  the  boundaries  of  ex- 
isting school  districts.  Under  the  direction  of  the  State 
commissioner  of  education  he  also  examines  and  licenses 
would-be  teachers.  He  may  condemn  a  public  schoolhouse 
as  unfit  for  use  and  order  the  people  of  the  district  to  repair 
it  or  to  build  a  new  one ;  but  the  people  may  appeal  from 
his  decision  to  the  State  commissioner  of  education.  Any 
person  of  full  age,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  a 
resident  of  the  State,  is  eligible  for  the  office  of  district 
superintendent,  provided  he  has  a  State  teachers'  certificate, 
and  can  pass  an  examination  on  the  teaching  of  agriculture. 
He  must,  while  acting  as  such,  be  a  resident  of  the  county 
in  which  his  district  is  situated.  Women  may  be  chosen, 
and  some  of  our  best  superintendents  (formerly  called 
school  commissioners)  have  been  women  who  had  gained 
practical  experience  as  teachers  in  the  free  common  schools. 

The  School  District  and  Its  Government. — For  school 
purposes  the  State  has  made  each  school  district  a  self- 
J  He  is  also  allowed  tyxi  for  traveling  expenses. 


204  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW  YORK. 

governing  unit,  in  many  respects  similar  to  the  self-gov- 
erning municipal  corporations  of  town,  village,  city  and 
county.  The  law-making  power  of  the  school  district  is 
the  School  District  Meeting.  All  citizens  of  full  age,  ir- 
respective of  sex,  who  live  in  the  district,  who  send  one  or 
more  children  to  the  district  school,  or  who  own  property 
in  the  district  liable  to  be  taxed  for  school  purposes,^  are 
lawful  voters  at  all  regular  and  special  school  district 
meetings.  The  regular  annual  school  district  meeting  is 
held  on  the  fir-st  Tuesday  in  May,  usually  in  the  district 
schoolhouse.  It  elects  by  ballot,  of  the  majority  of  the 
voters  present,  the  following  executive  officers  of  the  school 

1  Voters  at  District  Meetings. — Section  203  of  the  Education  Law 
thus  describes  the  qualifications  of  voters  at  school  district  meetings : 

A  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  school  meeting  for  the  election  of 
school  district  officers,  and  upon  all  other  matters  vi^hich  may  be  brought  before 
such  meeting  who  is : 

1.  A  citizen  of  the  United  States, 

2.  Twenty-one  years  of  age, 

3.  A  resident  within  the  district  for  a  period  of  thirty  days  next  preceding 
the  meeting  at  which  he  offers  to  vote;  and  who  in  addition  thereto  possesses 
one  of  the  following  four  qualifications : 

a.  Owns  or  hires,  or  is  in  the  possession  under  a  contract  of  purchase  of 
real  property  in  such  district  liable  to  taxation  for  school  purposes,  or 

b.  Is  the  parent  of  a  child  of  school  age,  provided  such  child  shall  have 
attended  the  district  school  in  the  district  in  which  the  meeting  is  held  for  a 
period  of  at  least  eight  weeks  during  the  year  preceding  such  school  meet- 
ing, or 

c.  Not  being  the  parent,  has  permanently  residing  with  him  a  child  of 
school  age  who  shall  have  attended  the  district  school  for  a  period  of  at  least 
eight  weeks  during  the  year  preceding  such  meeting,  or 

d.  Owns  any  personal  property,  assessed  on  the  last  preceding  assessment- 
roll  of  the  town,  exceeding  fifty  dollars  in  value,  exclusive  of  such  as  is  exempt 
from  execution. 

No  person  shall  be  deemed  to  be  ineligible  to  vote  at  any  such  meeting,  by 
reason  of  sex,  who  has  the  other  qualifications  required  by  this  section. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


205 


district :  One  or  three  trustees,  a  district  clerk,  a  collector, 
and  (if  the  district  so  decides)  a  treasurer. 

All  of  these  officers  must  be  residents  of  the  school  dis- 
trict, and  qualified  voters  at  the  district  meeting ;  and  they 
must  also  be  able  to  read  and  write.  They  hold  office  for 
one  year,  except  where  the  district  elects  three  trustees,  in 
which  case  the  term  of  a  trustee  is  three  years,  one  trustee 
going  out  of  office  each  year. 

Powers  of  the  School  District  Meeting. — Besides  the 
power  to  elect  district  officers,  a  school  district  meeting  has 
power  to  fix  the  amount  of  bonds  which  the  collector  and 
treasurer  shall  give  for  the  faithful  performance  of  their 
work ;  power  to  designate,  with  the  consent  of  the  district 
superintendent,  a  site  for  a  schoolhouse  ^ ;  power  to  vote  a 
tax  upon  the  taxable  property  of  the  district  for  school 
sites,  supplies,  buildings,  and  furniture;  for  school  apparatus 
not  exceeding  twenty-five  dollars  in  one  year;  for  school 
libraries  ;  and  for  teachers'  wages. 

The  School  Trustee. — The  State  law  makes  the  trustee 
or  trustees  of  a  school  district  a  corporate  body,  or  board, 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  and  managing  the  school  prop- 
erty of  the  district ;  and  the  trustee  is  the  chief  executive 
officer  of  the  school  district.  The  trustee  may  call  special 
meetings  of  the  school  district  voters.  He  makes  out  a 
list  of  persons  in  the  district  who  are  liable  to  pay  taxes 
for  school  purposes,  putting  the  amount  of  each  person's 
school  tax  opposite  his  name  on  the  tax  list,  and  directs 
the  district  collector  to  collect  this  tax.  He  may  also  raise 
by  direct  tax  any  reasonable  sum  needed  to  pay  teachers' 
wages.  He  buys  or  leases  property  for  school  purposes, 
and  purchases  school  apparatus,  as  directed  by  the  district 

1  School  sites  may  be  chosen  only  at  special  district  meetings. 


2o6  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

meeting;  hires  the  teachers  who  teach  in  the  district 
school ;  makes  rules  for  the  government  and  discipline  of 
the  school ;  and  prescribes  its  course  of  study,  subject  to 
the  State  laws  governing  these  matters,  and  to  the  general 
supervision  of  the  district  superintendent  and  of  the  State 
commissioner  of  education. 

Union  Free  School  Districts. — Under  directions  laid 
down  by  State  law,  the  voters  of  any  school  district,  or  the 
voters  of  adjoining  districts  voting  to  consolidate  their 
school  districts,  may  establish  a  union  free  school,  and 
elect  a  board  of  education  of  from  three  to  nine  members, 
having  generally  the  powers  and  duties  of  school  trustees. 
This  board  may  establish  an  academic  department  in  the 
union  free  school  for  higher  instruction  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  State  education  department.  In  union  free 
school  districts  of  sufficient  population,  the  board  of  educa- 
tion may  elect  a  local  superintendent  of  schools. 

Money  for  the  Schools. — Besides  the  moneys  voted  at 
school  district  meetings,  the  State  distributes  each  year 
large  sums  for  the  support  of  the  free  public  schools. 
Part  of  this  money  is  appropriated  by  the  State  legislature 
from  moneys  in  the  State  treasury,  the  proceeds  of  various 
taxes ;  and  part  of  it  is  the  income  from  certain  educa- 
tional funds  belonging  to  the  State,  which  the  people, 
through  the  constitution,  have  declared  shall  be  kept  in- 
violate for  school  purposes.^  These  are  known  as  the 
Common  School  Fund,  the  United  States  Deposit  Fund 
and  the  Literature  Fund. 

The  common  school  fund  had  its  beginning  in  1805,  when 
the  State  sold  some  500,000  acres  of  pubhc  land  "  to  raise 
a  fund  for  the  encouragement  of  common  schools."     The 

iNew  York  State  Constitution,  Article  IX.,  Section  3. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  207 

United  States  deposit  fund  is  a  portion  of  a  surplus  of 
;^30,ooo,ooo  of  United  States  funds  that  had  accumulated 
in  the  United  States  treasury,  and  that  was  distributed  in 
1832  among  the  States,  to  be  kept  until  called  for  by  the 
national  government.  These  two  funds  are  for  the  sup- 
port of  common  schools,  while  the  income  from  the  third 
fund,  the  Hterature  fund,  goes  to  the  academies. 

Distribution  of  School  Moneys. — From  the  moneys  pro- 
vided by  the  State,  the  State  commissioner  of  education 
apportions  annually  the  sums  prescribed  by  State  law  for 
each  city,  incorporated  village,  union  free  school  district, 
and  each  common  school  district,  depending  upon  assessed 
valuation,  number  of  teachers  employed,  number  of  chil- 
dren attending  school,  and  some  other  details.  The  money 
is  paid  through  the  county  treasurer's  office,  and  part  of 
it,  for  the  common  schools,  passes  through  the  hands  of 
the  town  supervisors,  who  pay  it  over  on  order  of  the 
trustees  of  the  school  districts. 

Out  of  its  school  moneys  the  State  supports  a  Normal 
College  at  Albany  and  ten  other  Normal  Schools  for  the 
instruction  and  training  of  public  school  teachers.  It  also 
pays  for  the  maintenance  of  teachers'  training  classes  in 
connection  with  academies  and  the  academic  departments 
of  union  free  schools,  and  for  the  teachers'  institutes  car- 
ried on  in  the  various  supervisory  districts,  where  teachers 
already  employed  in  the  public  schools  may  receive  instruc- 
tion. 

Schools  in  Cities. — The  public  schools  of  each  city,  while 
being  subject  generally  to  the  State  laws  regulating  public 
education,  and  to  the  general  supervision  of  the  State  com- 
missioner of  education,  are  carried  on  in  accordance  with 
special  provisions  in  the  various  city  charters;  each  city 


2o8  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK. 

having  generally  its  own  local  board  of  education,  elected  or 
appointed,  and  its  superintendent  of  schools,  usually  elected 
by  its  board  of  education,  and  exercising  the  power  to 
appoint  teachers. 

School-teachers  are  Public  Officers. — Teachers  in  the 
free  public  schools  are  pubUc  officers,  paid  partly  by  the 
State  and  partly  by  the  local  government  employing  them ; 
and  no  person  may  teach  in  the  public  schools  without  first 
receiving  a  teacher's  license.  A  license  may  be  obtained 
(i)  by  passing  a  graded  examination  prepared  by  the  State 
commissioner  of  education  and  conducted  by  a  district 
superintendent,  the  license  being  good  only  in  the  super- 
intendent's district;  or  (2)  by  passing  an  examination  con- 
ducted by  the  State  commissioner  of  education  for  a  license 
good  for  life,  which  gives  permission  to  teach  in  any  public 
school  in  the  State ;  or  (3)  by  graduating  from  a  State 
Normal  School ;  or  (4)  by  passing  the  local  examination  of 
a  city  superintendent.  Some  other  special  certificates  may 
be  given  by  the  State  commissioner. 

The  Compulsory  School  Attendance  Law. — The  State 
requires  every  child  between  seven  (or  eight)  and  sixteen 
years  old^  who  is  in  proper  physical  and  mental  condi- 
tion, to  attend  the  common  schools  or  to  have  equivalent 
instruction.2     But  children  between  fourteen  and  sixteen 

^  The  compulsory  school  age  is  between  seven  and  sixteen  years  in  a  city 
or  school  district  having  a  population  of  5,000  or  more  and  employing  a 
superintendent  of  schools.  In  other  districts  the  age  is  between  eight  and 
sixteen  years,  and  the  required  attendance  is  only  from  October  i  to  June  i 
each  year. 

2  The  law  reads :  "  If  any  such  child  shall  so  attend  upon  instruction  else- 
where than  at  a  public  school,  such  instruction  shall  be  at  least  substantially 
equivalent  to  the  instruction  given  to  children  of  like  age  at  the  public  school 
of  the  city  or  district  in  which  such  child  resides  ;  and  such  attendance  shall 
be  for  at  least  as  many  hours  of  each  day  thereof,  as  are  required  of  children 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  209 

years  old,  regularly  and  lawfully  engaged  in  some  useful 
employment,^  are  not  required  to  attend  school;  except 
that,  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class,  boys  between 
fourteen  and  sixteen,  who  have  gone  to  work,  but  who  are 
not  graduates  of  the  public  schools,  or  who  do  not  hold 
certain  certificates,  must  attend  night  school  for  sixteen 
weeks  in  each  year.^  Attendance  officers,  called  truant 
officers,  who  have  power  to  arrest  truants  without  a  war- 
rant, must  be  appointed  in  each  city,  village  and  town  to 
enforce  compulsory  attendance.  Parents  who  neglect  to 
cause  their  children  to  attend  school  in  accordance  with 
the  law  are  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  The  State  commis- 
sioner of  education  may  withhold  school  moneys  from 
cities  or  districts  that  fail  to  enforce  compulsory  school 
attendance,  and  he  may  depose  any  school  officer  who 
willfully  neglects  his  duties. 

of  like  age  at  public  schools ;  and  no  greater  total  amount  of  holidays  or 
vacations  shall  be  deducted  from  such  attendance  during  the  period  such 
attendance  is  required,  than  is  allowed  in  such  public  school  to  children  of 
like  age." 

1  In  cities  and  school  districts  having  a  population  of  5,000  or  more  a  child 
between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  old,  if  lawfully  employed,  needs  to  have 
an  employment  certificate  issued  under  the  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law. 

"^  The  law  reads  :  "  Every  boy  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age 
in  a  city  of  the  first  class  or  a  city  of  the  second  class,  in  possession  of  an 
employment  certificate  duly  issued  under  the  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law, 
who  has  not  completed  such  course  of  study  as  is  required  for  graduation  from 
the  elementary  public  schools  of  such  city,  and  who  does  not  hold  either  a 
certificate  of  graduation  from  the  public  elementary  school  or  the  preaca- 
demic  certificate  issued  by  the  regents  or  the  certificate  of  the  completion 
of  an  elementary  course  issued  by  the  education  department,  shall  attend  the 
public  evening  schools  of  such  city,  or  other  evening  schools  offering  an 
equivalent  course  of  instruction,  for  not  less  than  six  hours  each  week  for  a 
period  of  not  less  than  sixteen  weeks,  or  upon  a  trade  school  a  period  of  eight 
hours  per  week  for  sixteen  weeks  in  each  school  or  calendar  year." 


2IO  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW   YORK. 

The  University  of  the  State  of  New  York  and  the 
Regents.  —  At  the  head  of  the  educational  system  of 
the  State  is  the  corporation  known  as  the  University 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  This  university  was  incor- 
porated by  the  State  legislature  in  1784,  and  the  origi- 
nal purpose  was  to  make  it  an  ordinary  university;  but 
this  plan  was  not  carried  out.  Instead,  the  corporation 
was  reorganized  as  a  federatioil  of  the  higher  institutions 
of  learning  in  the  State,  including  universities,  colleges, 
professional  and  technical  schools,  some  public  libraries, 
museums,  and  university  extension  centers.  The  Univer- 
sity of  the  State  of  New  York  is  governed  and  its  powers 
exercised  by  the  regents.  The  regents  consist  of  twelve 
men,  elected  by  the  State  legislature  for  terms  of  twelve 
years  each.  One  regent  is  elected  annually  in  the  second 
week  of  February,  and  he  takes  office  on  April  i,  following. 

Powers  of  the  Regents. — The  regents  have  power  to 
establish  rules  and  regulations  necessary  to  carry  into 
effect  the  State  statutes  relating  to  education.  They  may 
incorporate,  alter  or  revoke  the  charters  of  universities, 
colleges  and  other  institutions  of  higher  learning  in  the 
State,  They  visit  and  inspect  such  institutions,  and  re- 
ceive reports  from  them.  They  have  the  management 
and  control  of  the  great  State  Library,  and  of  the  State 
Museum.  They  prepare  regents'  examinations  covering 
college  preparatory  studies  and  qualifications  for  admis- 
sion to  various  technical  and  professional  schools.  They 
also  supervise  the  granting  of  academic  and  professional 
degrees.  They  conduct  a  department  of  university  exten- 
sion work,  sending  out  teachers  and  lecturers,  conducting 
examinations,  and  granting  regents'  certificates  to  students 
passing  the  required  examinations. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS,  211 

The  Commissioner  of  Education. — The  regents  elect 
the  State  commissioner  of  education,  who  serves  during 
their  pleasure,  and  receives  a  salary  of  1^7,500  a  year.^ 
This  commissioner  acts  as  the  official  secretary  of  the  re- 
gents, and  he  is  also  their  executive  officer.  He  appoints 
many  subordinates  and  assistants,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  regents.  He  supervises  the  educational  institutions 
of  the  State,  especially  the  free  public  schools  and  the 
normal  schools.  He  apportions  the  school  moneys  of  the 
State  as  previously  described.  He  may,  for  cause,  remove 
a  public  school  officer,  or  revoke  a  teacher's  certificate. 
He  acts  also  as  a  judicial  officer  in  the  interpretation  and 
application  of  the  school  laws.  Some  cases  are  brought 
before  him  in  the  first  instance,  as  disputes  over  the  elec- 
tion of  school  officers ;  also  he  must  decide  appeals  from 
the  decisions  of  subordinate  officers,  especially  the  district 
superintendents. 

SUMMARY. 

The  State  must  have  intelligent  voters,  if  it  would  have 
good  government ;  so  it  has  established  free  schools  and 
requires  the  children  to  attend  school. 

Outside  of  cities,  the  State  is  divided  into  supervisory 
districts  ;  and  these  are  in  turn  divided  into  school  districts, 
each  having  its  free  common  school,  supported  in  part  by 
the  State  and  in  part  by  the  district.  Each  city  has  its  own 
system  of  free  public  schools  and  its  school  superinten- 
dent, as  provided  in  its  charter.  All  are  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  State  commissioner  of  education. 

The  school  district  is  a  unit  of  local  government  for  school 
purposes.     The  school  district  meeting  is  the  district  legis- 

^  Besides  jj5i,5CX)  for  expenses. 


212  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

lative  body,  and  the  school  trustee  is  the  chief  executive 
officer  of  the  district. 

Higher  instruction  in  the  State  is  under  the  supervision 
of  the  regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

Give  the  substance  of  the  law  compelling  children  to  at- 
tend school  in  this  State.  What  is  the  purpose  of  this  law  ? 
How  is  it  enforced? 

Give  an  account  of  the  district  superintendent  and  his 
duties. 

What  is  a  school  district  ?  Describe  in  outline  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  school  district  for  school  purposes.  Who 
is  its  chief  executive  officer  ? 

How  are  union  free  school  districts  formed  ?  For  what 
purposes  ? 

Describe  the  duties  of  the  State  commissioner  of  educa- 
tion.    How  is  he  chosen  ? 

Name  three  sources  from  which  money  is  obtained  to 
carry  on  the  free  public  schools  of  this  State.  How  may 
a  person  obtain  a  license  to  teach  in  such  schools  ? 

Describe  the  board  of  regents  and  its  duties.  How  are 
the  regents  chosen  }  For  what  terms  }  What  is  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  State  of  New  York.!*  Who  was  its  first 
chancellor }     What  is  a  regent's  certificate } 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
Assessment  and  Collection  of  Taxes. 

Government  cannot  be  carried  on  without  money.  The 
town  must  have  money  to  pay  for  roads  and  bridges ;  the 
village  must  have  money  for  street  lamps,  village  water- 
works and  police.  The  great  city  must  spend  millions  of 
dollars  every  year  for  lighting,  paving,  street  cleaning,  water, 
police,  schools,  and  a  hundred  other  necessary  public  activi- 
ties. In  the  county  the  sheriff,  the  county  judge,  county 
clerk,  and  other  officers  must  be  paid.  So  in  the  State,  the 
governor  and  his  army  of  assistants  in  the  executive  depart- 
ment, the  members  of  the  legislature,  and  the  judges  of  the 
courts  must  all  have  their  salaries.  Without  money,  the 
wheels  of  government  would  soon  cease  to  revolve.  Many 
beneficial  public  activities  would  be  suspended,  schools 
would  close,  courts  and  policemen  would  stop  work,  county 
poorhouses  and  State  asylums  would  be  obliged  to  turn 
their  helpless  inmates  into  the  streets,  law  would  remain 
unenforced,  and  confusion,  ignorance,  and  crime,  would  soon 
triumph  over  the  feeble  and  unorganized  efforts  of  indi- 
viduals. 

But  where  is  all  the  money,  needed  to  carry  on  the  vast 
and  complicated  public  activities  of  our  government,  to  come 
from  ?  How  is  it  to  be  apportioned  among  the  people  bene- 
fited ?  How  collected  so  as  least  to  inconvenience  the 
people  who  are  to  pay  it  ?     To  answer  these  questions  satis- 

213 


214  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK, 

factorily  has  been  from  the  beginning  of  civilized  govern- 
ment,  one  of  its  most  difficult  and  delicate  problems. 

Money  to  Carry  on  the  Government  is  Collected  in  the 
Form  of  Taxes. — Money  or  service  lawfully  taken  from  the 
people  to  meet  the  expenses  of  their  government  is  called 
taxes.  Different  governments  have  different  methods  of 
assessing  and  collecting  the  taxes.  Taxes  for  the  support 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  are  collected  very 
largely  as  customs  duties  and  internal  revenue.  The  former 
is  a  tax  collected  at  the  United  States  customhouses,  on  the 
value  of  goods  or  products  brought  into  this  country  from 
foreign  countries.  The  United  States  internal  revenue  taxes 
are  collected  not  on  goods  imported,  but  upon  domestic 
commerce  and  manufactures — especially  liquors,  tobacco, 
etc.  Internal  revenue  is  often  paid  in  the  form  of  stamps 
purchased  from  the  government,  and  placed  on  the  article 
manufactured  or  sold.  Both  customs  duties  and  internal 
revenue  taxes  are  known  as  indirect  taxes,  because  they  are 
paid  ultimately  by  the  consumer  or  purchaser  of  the  articles 
taxed,  in  the  increased  price  asked  for  such  articles.^ 

State  and  Local  Taxes. — Money  for  carrying  on  our 
local  governments,  and  sometimes  for  the  State  govern- 
ment also,  is  collected  very  largely  in  the  form  of  a  tax  on 
the  value  of  houses,  lands  and  other  permanent  property, 
called  real  property.     Movable  property,  such  as  horses, 

1  Indirect  taxation  has  these  advantages :  the  tax  burden  is  distributed  in 
small  amounts  among  many  consumers,  is  not  felt  to  be  heavy,  and  the  taxes 
are  easily  collected.  It  has  its  dangers,  however.  The  taxpayer,  not  realizing 
the  actual  amount  of  the  burden,  is  apt  to  feel  too  little  interest  in  the  tax  and 
too  little  responsibility,  as  a  voter,  for  the  wise  and  economical  administration 
of  the  government.  Also,  a  customs  duty  often  has  the  effect  of  raising  the 
price  of  domestic  goods  as  well  as  that  of  the  imported  goods  of  the  same 
kind  that  are  actually  taxed. 


ASSESSMENT  AND   COLLECTION  Of   TAXES.  215 

cattle,  the  goods  of  a  merchant,  certain  farm  machinery, 
etc.,  is  also  subject  to  taxation ;  but  this  movable  property, 
which  is  called  personal  property,  is  a  more  difficult  form 
of  property  to  tax  than  real  property,  owing  to  the  com- 
parative ease  with  which  it  can  be  concealed,  and  because 
of  its  greater  fluctuation  in  value.  In  the  raising  of  direct 
taxes,  each  owner  of  taxable  property  is  required  generally 
to  pay  a  tax  equal  to  a  certain  definite  percentage  of  the 
value  of  his  property  subject  to  taxation.  Thus  if  ;^  100, 000 
of  taxes  is  to  be  raised  in  a  certain  city,  and  the  value  of 
the  taxable  property  in  the  city  is  $5,000,000,  each  dollar's 
worth  of  property  will  pay  two  cents  in  taxes ;  and  John 
Smith,  who  owns  a  house  and  lot  valued  at  1^2,500,  must 
pay  fifty  dollars.  This  form  of  taxation  is  called  direct 
taxation,  because  the  tax  money  goes  directly  from  John 
Smith's  pocket  to  the  officers  of  the  government,  instead 
of  being  paid  indirectly,  in  the  increased  price  which  he 
pays  for  an  article  which  is  taxed  by  the  government. 

Tax  Districts. — For  the  purpose  of  collecting  taxes,  the 
State  is  divided  into  tax  districts,  each  district  usually  cor- 
responding to  a  town  or  city.  Officers  are  elected  or 
appointed  in  each  town  and  city  to  ascertain  the  value  of  the 
houses,  lands,  and  other  taxable  property  in  the  district,  and 
local  officers  often  collect  in  a  single  sum,  from  each  prop- 
erty owner,  the  amount  of  taxes  due  from  him  to  the  State, 
county,  town,  and  city  governments. 

Fixing  the  Amount  of  the  Taxes. — The  State  legislature 
decides  what  sum  must  be  raised  each  year  from  the  prop- 
erty in  each  county  to  carry  on  the  State  government.  The 
county  board  of  supervisors  in  each  county  decides  how 
much  money  must  be  raised  as  a  county  tax  to  carry  on  the 
county  government ;  and  this  is  added  to  the  sum  to  be 


21 6  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YOKK. 

raised  in  the  county  for  State  purposes.  The  amount  to  be 
raised  for  town  purposes  is  decided  by  the  town  meeting  in 
each  town ;  the  sum  is  reported  to  the  county  board  of 
supervisors,  and  the  board  adds  it  to  the  town's  proportion 
of  State  and  county  taxes.  The  amount  of  money  needed 
to  carry  on  a  city  government  is  usually  fixed  by  its  com- 
mon council,  which  reports  the  sum  to  the  board  of  super- 
visors of  the  county  in  which  the  city  is  located ;  and  the 
board  adds  to  this  sum  the  State  and  county  tax  for  which 
the  city  is  liable,  as  in  the  case  of  a  town.  Village  and 
school-district  taxes  are  collected  independently  of  the  State 
and  other  local  taxes,  by  the  village  and  school-district 
officers. 

Assessors  and  Their  Duties. — In  each  tax  district  of  the 
State,  three  assessors  are  elected  by  the  people  of  the  towns, 
but  special  laws  govern  in  the  cities.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
assessors  to  "  ascertain  by  diligent  inquiry"  all  property  and 
persons  in  the  district  liable  to  be  taxed.  Generally  all  real 
property — that  is,  houses  and  lands — must  pay  taxes,  and  a 
mortgage  given  for  a  debt  due  upon  a  house  or  farm  does 
not  lessen  the  amount  of  taxes  the  property  must  pay.  A 
man  may  also  be  taxed  on  his  personal  or  movable  prop- 
erty after  deducting  his  just  debts  from  its  value.  Excep- 
tion is  made  of  public  property  belonging  to  the  United 
States  or  to  the  State,  and  of  property  of  municipal  corpora- 
tions used  for  public  purposes,  such  as  a  courthouse,  jail, 
park,  cemetery,  etc.  Such  property  is  not  taxed.  Neither 
is  the  property  of  religious  and  charitable  organizations,  like 
churches  and  hospitals,  when  used  directly  for  religious  or 
benevolent  purposes. 

The  Assessment  Roll. — From  information  obtained  by 
the  assessors,  they  make  up  what  is  called  an  assessment 


ASSESSMENT  AND    COLLECTION  OF  TAXES.  217 

roll  for  the  tax  district.  This  roll  must  contain  the  name 
of  each  person  in  the  tax  district  Hable  to  be  taxed,  the 
value  of  his  real  property,  and  the  amount  of  any  personal 
property  or  rents  upon  which  he  may  be  taxed.  Having 
made  up  the  assessment  roll,  the  assessors  now  notify  the 
people  of  the  district  that  the  roll  is  open  for  inspection. 
The  assessors  fix  a  time  and  place  for  hearing  any  com- 
plaints of  persons,  who  may  thmk  themselves  wrongly  as- 
sessed. As  a  result  of  these  hearings,  corrections  may  be 
made  in  the  assessment  roll.  This  roll,  when  corrected,  is 
filed  with  the  town  or  city  clerk. 

The  County  Board  of  Equalization. — The  assessment 
roll  for  each  tax  district  is  taken  to  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  county  board  of  supervisors ;  and  the  board  there  ex- 
amines the  different  rolls.  If  any  person  still  feels  aggrieved 
at  the  amount  he  has  been  assessed,  he  may  now  appeal 
from  the  decision  of  his  local  assessors  to  the  county  board 
of  supervisors,  for  its  decision.  This  board,  when  examin- 
ing the  assessment  rolls,  sits  as  a  County  Board  of  Equaliza- 
tion of  Taxes,  and  has  power  to  increase  or  decrease  the 
aggregate  assessed  value  of  the  real  property  in  any  tax  dis- 
trict, in  order  to  produce  a  just  relation  among  the  several 
district  valuations;  but  the  board  must  not  decrease  the 
total  assessment  of  the  county.  The  board  apportions  the 
State  and  county  taxes  due  from  each  town  and  city,  adds 
the  town  or  city  tax,  and  puts  the  amount  of  each  person's 
tax  opposite  his  name  on  the  assessment  roll  of  his  tax  dis- 
trict. The  assessment  roll,  thus  completed,  becomes  the 
tax  roll  of  the  district.  We  will  now  go  back  to  John 
Smith,  who  owns  a  house  and  lot  valued  at  ;^2,500.  We 
will  suppose  the  county  board  of  equalization  finds  that 
;^  1 00,000  is  to  be  raised  in  taxes  from  the  property  of  the 


2i8  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

city  where  John  Smith  lives.  Of  this  sum,  $90,000  is 
required  by  the  city  government  to  pay  for  schools,  police, 
streets,  sewers,  lights,  etc.;  ;^9,ooo  is  the  city's  share  of 
the  money  needed  to  carry  on  the  county  government;  and 
;^  1,000  is  due  from  the  city  to  the  State  government.  The 
total  tax  on  each  dollar  of  taxable  property  in  the  city  is 
two  cents.  Of  the  fifty  dollars  taxes  which  John  Smith  will 
pay  on  his  property,  valued  at  $2,500,  forty-five  dollars, 
therefore,  will  go  to  the  city  government,  four  and  one  half 
dollars  to  the  county,  and  fifty  cents  to  the  State. 

Collecting  the  Taxes. — The  amount  of  each  man's  tax 
having  been  ascertained,  the  board  of  supervisors  directs  the 
collector  in  each  tax  district  to  collect  the  money  due,  and 
pay  it  over  to  the  officials  entitled  by  law  to  receive  it.  The 
superintendents  of  highways  receive  the  money  for  building 
and  repairing  the  roads ;  the  superintendents  of  the  poor, 
the  money  for  the  support  of  the  county's  poor ;  the  super- 
visor, the  money  for  town  expenses ;  the  city  treasurer,  the 
money  for  the  city  government ;  and  the  county  treasurer, 
the  remainder.  The  county  treasurer  pays  out  of  the  money 
received  by  him,  any  charges  against  the  county,  and  he 
pays  to  the  State  comptroller  the  tax  on  the  property 
of  the  county  fixed  by  the  legislature  for  State  purposes. 
Both  the  State  comptroller  and  the  county  treasurer  are 
authorized  by  law  to  sell  real  property  on  which  the  tax 
remains  unpaid ;  but  the  property  so  sold  may  be  re- 
deemed or  bought  back  by  its  former  owner,  on  his  pay- 
ing back  taxes  due,  and  the  costs  and  expenses  of  the  tax 
sale.  The  local  authorities  of  cities  may  sell  in  a  similar 
way  real  property  on  which  certain  city  taxes  have  not 
been  paid. 

The  State  Board  of  Equalization. — That  the  property  in 


I 


ASSESSMENT  AND    COLLECTION  OF  TAXES.         219 

each  county  may  be  justly  assessed  for  the  payment  of  taxes 
due  to  the  State,  officers  known  as  State  tax  commission- 
ers, visit  the  different  counties,  ascertain  the  value  of  the 
taxable  property,  and  the  manner  of  its  assessment  and  valu- 
ation by  the  assessors  in  the  local  tax  districts.  Once  a 
year,  a  State  board  of  equalization,  somewhat  similar  to  the 
county  board  just  described,  meets  at  Albany  to  examine  and 
revise  the  valuations  of  the  taxable  property  reported  from 
the  different  counties.  The  tax  commissioners  are  mem- 
bers of  this  State  board.  The  State  board  of  equalization 
may  increase  or  decrease  the  aggregate  value  of  the  assess- 
ment of  the  real  property  of  any  county,  but  it  cannot  de- 
crease the  total  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  property  within 
the  State.  Appeals  from  decisions  of  county  boards  of 
equalization  may  be  made  to  this  State  board. 

"Tax  Dodging"  and  its  Penalty. — Sometimes  persons 
try  to  escape  paying  their  just  share  of  the  taxes  by  con- 
cealing their  taxable  property,  or  making  false  statements  to 
the  assessors  as  to  its  value.  Such  attempted  "  tax  dodg- 
ing," the  law  of  the  State  classes  among  the  misdemeanors, 
and  a  person  thus  trying  to  deceive  the  tax  officers,  may  be 
tried  and  punished  by  the  criminal  courts. 

Revenues  of  the  State. — Some  years  ago,  the  bulk  of 
the  revenue  of  this  State  was  derived  from  the  direct  prop- 
erty tax  described  in  this  chapter.  In  recent  years,  how- 
ever, the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  State  have  been  fully 
met  by  revenues  derived  from  special  State  taxes,  etc.,  as 
follows :  on  organization  of  corporations  (about  i  per  cent 
of  total  State  revenue) ;  on  the  capital  and  income  of  rail- 
road, telegraph,  waterworks,  lighting,  and  various  other 
corporations  (about  30  per  cent  of  the  total  revenue) ;  on 
certain  inheritances  of  property  (about  20  per  cent) ;  on  trans- 


220  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

f  ers  of  stocks  (about  1 5  per  cent) ;  on  the  liquor  traffic  (about 
1 5  per  cent) ;  on  mortgages  (about  5  per  cent) ;  and  from 
numerous  minor  sources  of  income  (about  10  per  cent). 
The  only  direct  property  tax  now  necessary  is  a  small  tax 
levied  to  pay  the  interest  and  (gradually)  the  principal  of 
State  debts  authorized  by  the  people ;  ^  and  even  this  need 
not  be  levied  if  the  legislature  chooses  to  provide  funds  by 
other  means.2  Because  of  the  large  returns  from  the  spe- 
cial taxes,  New  York  is  thus  in  a  very  favorable  position 
in  regard  to  the  State  tax  on  property.  In  most  other 
States  there  is  a  comparatively  heavy  State  tax  on  property. 

Private  Corporations  and  their  Nature. — We  have 
spoken  of  the  taxes  collected  upon  the  capital  stock  and  in- 
come of  private  corporations  operating  railroads,  telegraph 
lines,  etc.  What  is  a  private  corporation,  and  how  does  it 
differ  from  the  municipal  corporations  of  town,  village,  city 
and  county,  previously  described  1  Private  corporations 
are  composed  of  persons  united  usually  for  the  conducting 
of  money-making  enterprises,  like  banking,  insurance,  rail- 
roads and  other  enterprises  too  great  to  be  successfully 
managed  by  a  single  individual.  A  private  corporation, 
like  a  municipal  corporation,  must  go  to  the  State  legisla- 
ture for  its  charter  for  permission  to  do  business ;  and  these 
corporations  are  organized  under  a  general  law  of  the  State, 
known  as  the  Corporation  Law.  When  the  individuals 
composing  a  private  corporation  have  obtained  their  char- 
ter, they  may  buy,  sell  and  hold  property,  carry  on  the 
corporate  business  permitted  by  their  charter,  sue  and  be 
sued,  as  a  single  individual. 

Banks  and  Banking. — Important  private  corporations, 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VII.,  Section  4. 

2  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VII.,  Section  ii. 


ASSESSMENT  AND    COLLECTION  OF   TAXES.  221 

subject  to  the  laws  of  New  York,  are  the  State  banks,  which, 
under  the  general  laws  of  the  State,  are  allowed  to  issue 
their  banknotes,  or  promises  to  pay,  for  circulation  among 
the  people  as  money.  For  the  security  of  those  who  deposit 
their  money  in  State  banks,  or  who  use  their  banknotes  as 
money,  the  law  provides  that  these  banks  shall  be  subject 
to  the  control  of  the  State  Superintendent  of  Banks.  Under 
the  State  constitution  all  State-bank  notes  issued  or  put  in 
circulation  as  money,  must  be  registered  by  the  State,  and 
the  banks  must  deposit  with  the  State  officers,  securities  suf- 
ficient to  redeem  their  notes  in  coin.^  The  constitution  still 
further  provides  for  the  protection  of  the  people  against  the 
possible  failure  of  the  banks  to  meet  the  obligations  of  these 
notes,  that  the  legislature  shall  have  no  power  to  pass  any 
law,  "  sanctioning  in  any  manner  directly  or  indirectly,  the 
suspension  of  specie  payments  by  any  person,  association 
or  corporation  issuing  banknotes  of  any  description."  ^ 
This  means  that,  if  so  demanded,  a  bank  must  pay  its  notes 
in  coin.  The  State  banks,  however,  do  not  issue  banknotes 
now,  because  such  banknotes  are  heavily  taxed  by  the 
United  States  government.  Their  business  is  to  receive 
money  on  deposit  and  to  loan  money  at  interest.  Special 
kinds  of  State  banking  institutions  are  called  trust  com- 
panies, savings  banks,  and  building  and  loan  associations, 
all  operating  under  the  control  of  special  State  laws. 

Differing  from  the  State  banks  are  the  national  banks, 
created  by  United  States  law  and  under  the  supervision 
of  the  United  States  Treasury  Department.  One  of  the 
chief  functions  of  the  national  banks,  is  to  issue  their  paper 
notes  or  promises  to  pay,  and  loan  them  to  the  people.     A 

1  New  York  Constitution,  Article  VIII.,  Section  6. 

2  New  York  Constitution,  Article  VIII.,  Section  5. 


222  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW    YORK 

national  bank,  wishing  to  issue  banknotes,  must  first  buy 
United  States  bonds  ^  equal  in  face  value  to  the  total  amount 
of  the  notes  which  the  bank  proposes  to  issue.  These 
bonds  the  bank  must  deposit  with  an  officer  of  the  treasury 
department  known  as  the  comptroller  of  the  currency,  as  a 
security  for  the  redemption  of  its  banknotes.  The  treasury 
department  at  Washington  then  prints  notes  or  bills  for  the 
bank,  which,  when  signed  by  the  proper  officers,  may  be 
loaned  or  circulated  as  money. 

The  State  not  to  Aid  Private  Enterprises. — The  State 
constitution  2  says  that  the  money  or  credit  of  the  State 
shall  not  in  any  manner  "  be  given  or  loaned  to  or  in  aid  of 
any  association,  corporation  or  private  undertaking,"  con- 
ducted for  private  gain.  And  the  State  may  not  become 
the  owner  of  any  stock  or  bonds  of  any  association  or 
private  corporation.  These  constitutional  provisions  are  in- 
tended to  prevent  the  lawmakers  from  using  the  public  money 
in  such  a  way  as  to  benefit  any  private  enterprise.  The 
State  legislature  may  incur  debts  at  no  time  exceeding 
1^50,000,000  for  improvement  of  highways,  and  not  more 
than  ;^ 1, 000,000  for  ordinary  expenses  ;  any  other  proposed 
debts  must  be  authorized  by  vote  of  the  people,  unless  it  be 
for  the  purpose  of  repelling  invasion,  suppressing  insurrec- 
tion, or  defending  the.  State  in  time  of  war.^     The  State 

1  Bonds  of  the  United  States  are  its  written  promises  to  pay  at  a  definite 
time  money  which  it  has  borrowed,  with  interest,  at  a  rate  fixed  by  Congress 
at  the  time  of  issuing  the  bond. 

2  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VIII.,  Section  9 ;  also  Article  VII., 
Section  i. 

8  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VII.,  Sections  2,  3,  4  and  12.  The 
people  have  accordingly  authorized  a  debt  of  more  than  $100,000,000  for 
deepening  and  improving  the  State  canals.  The  State  debt  in  1909  was 
$41,000,000,  of  which  $30,000,000  was  for  canals  and  $11,000,000  for  high- 
ways. 


ASSESSMENT  AND    COLLECTION  OF   TAXES.  223 

constitution  also  prohibits  any  county,  city,  town,  or  village, 
from  giving  money  or  property  to,  or  loaning  its  money  or 
credit  in  aid  of,  any  individual,  association,  or  corporation, 
or  from  owning  any  stocks  or  bonds  of  any  private  associa- 
tion or  corporation.^ 

The  Forest  Preserve  and  tltfe  Canals. — New  York  owns 
a  vast  quantity  of  wild  forest  land  in  the  Adirondack  region, 
much  of  which  is  covered  with  virgin  forests.  In  it  are 
the  head  waters  of  the  Hudson,  Mohawk,  and  other  large 
rivers,  which  supply  water  for  the  canals  owned  by  the 
State.  This,  with  other  wild  lands  owned  by  the  State,  is 
called  the  **  Forest  Preserve."  It  is  under  the  care  of  the 
forest,  fish  and  game  commission,  and  affords  a  magnificent 
public  park  for  the  people  of  the  State.  The  State  consti- 
tution declares  that  the  forest  preserve,  now  or  hereafter  to 
be  acquired,  shall  be  forever  kept  as  wild  forest  land ;  and 
that  it  may  not  be  leased,  sold,  or  exchanged,  or  taken  by 
any  corporation  ;  and  that  the  timber  on  it  shall  not  be  sold, 
removed,  or  destroyed.  In  connection  with  the  same  sub- 
ject, the  constitution  declares  that  the  canals  owned  by  the 
State  shall  not  be  sold  or  leased,  but  must  remain  the  prop- 
erty of  the  State  and  under  State  management.  No  tolls 
may  be  charged  on  the  canals,  but  they  are  always  to  re- 
main free  public  waterways  for  the  use  of  the  people.^ 

SUMMARY. 

Money  to  carry  on  the  various  governments,  State  and 
local,  is  collected  from  the  people  and  property  within  the 
State  in  the  form  of  taxes. 

Money  for  the  support  of  the  United  States  government 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VIII.,  Section  10. 

2  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  VII.,  Sections  7,  8  and  9. 


224  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

is  collected  in  the  form  of  indirect  taxes  ;  for  the  support  of 
the  State  government,  principally  in  the  form  of  special 
taxes  on  corporations,  inheritances,  the  liquor  traffic,  etc.; 
for  the  support  of  local  governments,  principally  in  the 
form  of  direct  taxes  on  real  and  personal  property. 

The  State  legislature  decides  the  amount  of  tax  to  be 
raised  for  the  State  government ;  the  board  of  supervisors 
the  amount  for  the  county ;  the  town  meeting  the  amount 
for  the  town  ;  and  the  common  council  the  amount  for  the 
city. 

The  State  is  divided  into  tax  districts  each  with  its  own 
board  of  local  assessors,  who  fix  the  value  of  each  man's 
property  for  purposes  of  taxation,  and  record  the  same  in 
the  district  assessment  roll. 

The  county  board  of  supervisors,  sitting  as  a  board  of 
equalization,  compares  the  assessment  rolls  of  the  several 
.tax  districts  in  the  county,  fixes  a  just  relation  between  the 
different  valuations,  and  fixes  each  man's  total  tax  for 
State  and  local  purposes,  except  village  and  school-district 
taxes,  which  is  then  collected  in  a  lump  sum  by  the  col- 
lector of  his  tax  district. 

A  State  board  of  equalization  performs  similar  duties  in 
regard  to  the  valuations  of  the  different  counties  of  the 
State. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

Name  three  purposes  for  which  taxes  may  be  legally  im- 
posed in  this  State. 

What  is  the  difference  between  direct  and  indirect  taxa- 
tion .?  Which  is  chiefly  employed  for  State  and  local  pur- 
poses } 

What  are  customs  duties }     What  is  internal  revenue } 


ASSESSMEN7'  AND    COLLECTION   OF   TAXES.  225 

From  what  is  the  income  of  the  State  chiefly  derived  ? 

What  are  the  usual  boundaries  of  a  tax  district  in  this 
State  ?  Describe  generally  the  mode  of  assessing  and  col- 
lecting State  and  local  taxes. 

What  is  meant  by  the  "  county  board  of  equalization  "  ? 
What  are  the  duties  of  this  board  ? 

What  is  a  tax  sale  ?  When  is  it  employed  ?  What  is 
the  penalty  for  making  false  statements  to  the  tax  officials 
about  one's  taxable  property  ? 

How  does  a  private  corporation  differ  from  a  municipal 
corporation  ? 

What  officer  has  general  supervision  of  the  operations 
of  State  banks  ?  For  what  purpose  ?  What  provision  of 
the  constitution  prohibits  a  State  bank  from  suspending 
specie  payments  ? 

Describe  briefly  the  difference  between  a  national  and  a 
State  bank.  May  the  State  guarantee  the  financial  stand- 
ing of  a  bank  ?  If  not,  why  not  ?  May  a  city  loan  money 
to  a  bank  ? 

What  is  the  State's  forest  preserve  ? 

ADDITIONAL   READING. 

For  a  brief  account  of  the  history  and  working  of  the  national 
banking  system,  see  Dunbar's  Chapters  on  the  Theory  and  History  of 
Banking,  Chapter  IX.,  "The  National  Banks  of  the  United  States." 
On  the  general  subject  of  taxation,  see  R.  T.  Ely's  Taxation  in 
American  States  and  Cities. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
The  Conduct  of  Public  Elections. 

Voting  in  New  York  seem&  at  first  sight  to  be  a  very- 
simple  affair.  The  voter  goes  to  the  polls  on  election  day, 
and  puts  into  the  ballot  box  a  piece  of  paper  on  which  are 
the  names  of  men  whom  he  wishes  elected  to  public  office. 
But  voting  when  we  come  to  look  more  carefully  into  it,  is 
not  such  a  simple  matter.  A  large  number  of  public  offi- 
cers are  required  to  conduct  our  public  elections,  and  many 
forms  of  law  must  be  complied  with,  before  every  citizen 
possessing  the  right  to  vote,  may  cast  a  ballot  for  the  men 
of  his  choice,  before  the  ballots  so  cast  may  be  counted, 
and  before  the  men  elected  to  public  offices  may  take  their 
places  in  the  service  of  the  State  and  local  governments. 

Government  Carried  on  by  Political  Parties. — One  of 
the  first  things  we  shall  see,  as  we  come  to  look  more  care- 
fully into  the  subject  of  public  elections,  is  that  the  men 
elected  to  office  nearly  always  represent  some  one  or  more 
political  parties.  They  are  Republicans,  Democrats,  Pro- 
hibitionists, Socialists,  etc.  When  the  citizen  goes  to  the 
polling  place  to  vote,  he  does  not,  usually,  write  on  his  ballot 
the  name  of  any  man  who  he  thinks  would  make  a  good 
governor,  sheriff,  mayor,  etc.,  but  he  votes  for  men  whose 
names  are  already  on  the  ballot — for  men  who  have  been 
named  for  these  offices  by  some  organized  body  of  citizens. 
Thus  he  casts  a  ballot  for  the  nominees  of  the  Republican 
party,  the  Democratic  party,  the  Prohibition  party,  or  the 
226 


THE    CONDUCT  OF  PUBLIC  ELECTIONS.  227 

Socialist  party.  Or  perhaps  he  votes  for  men  who  have 
been  named  for  office  by  some  body  of  independent  voters 
not  connected  with  these  parties.  If  he  votes  for  men  not 
previously  nominated  by  some  organized  body,  he  votes  for 
persons  who  have  no  possible  chance  of  being  elected ;  and 
for  this  "  throwing  away  of  a  vote  "  there  is  Httle  excuse,  ex- 
cept  as  the  voters  of  a  minority  party  wish  "  to  stand  up 
and  be  counted"  for  some  principle  held  dear  by  them. 
Because  the  men  elected  to  pubHc  office  usually  represent 
some  political  party,  the  State  has  enacted  laws  regulating 
the  action  of  political  parties,  so  as  to  give  each  member  of 
a  party  a  voice  in  the  selection  of  his  party's  nominees  for 
public  office. 

How  Political  Parties  Work.— Parties  in  New  York  are 
organized  along  the  lines  of  the  local  political  divisions — 
election  districts,  towns,  wards,  cities,  and  counties.  They 
are  also  organized  as  State  bodies.  In  each  of  these  polit- 
ical divisions  every  fully  organized  party  has  its  party  com- 
mittee, composed  of  men  voting  with  it,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
secure  a  voluntary  enrollment  or  Hst  of  the  party's  voters, 
to  collect  and  pay  out  money  to  advance  the  party  interests, 
to  circulate  newspapers  advocating  its  principles  and  candi- 
dates, and  to  bring  out  the  party's  voters  on  registration  and 
election  days.  Such  a  committee  also  calls,  at  the  proper 
time,  a  primary  meeting^  of  the  party's  voters  in  the  division 
under  its  control,  for  the  purpose  of  naming  party  candi- 
dates for  public  office,  or  to  select  delegates  to  a  nomi- 
nating convention  that  shall  name  such  candidates. 

The  Party  Primary. — Every  enrolled  party  voter  may 
attend  his  party's  primaries  held  in  the  district  where  he 
lives.     Here  by  voice  and  vote  he  may  help  to  name  his 

1  Sometimes  called  a  caucus. 


228  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK, 

party's  candidates  for  public  office ;  also  the  leader  of  his 
party  for  his  district.  The  primary  meeting  is  in  theory 
very  much  like  the  town  meeting,  except  that  it  is  attended 
by  the  voters  of  one  political  party  only,  and  that  they 
meet  to  elect  officers  of  their  party,  and  to  name  candidates 
for  public  office  instead  of  to  elect  them.  In  the  primary 
is  thus  the  real  beginning  of  ''government  by  the  people." 
Party  primaries  usually  name  Candidates  for  office  in  the 
smaller  political  divisions,  such  as  the  town  or  ward ;  while 
nominating  conventions  composed  of  delegates  elected  at 
the  primaries  name  the  candidates  in  the  larger  divisions ; 
and  the  State  convention,  which  frames  a  party  platform, 
or  statement  of  principles,  and  names  candidates  for  state 
offices,  may  be  made  up  of  delegates  chosen  at  district 
conventions.  A  special  State  convention  in  Presidential 
years  elects  delegates  to  the  national  convention  of  the 
party,  which  frames  a  platform  and  nominates  candidates 
for  President  and  Vice-President. 

State  Regulation  of  Parties. — The  law  of  New  York 
provides  that  every  political  organization  casting  a  certain 
number  of  votes  for  governor  (at  present  10,000)  shall  be 
known  as  a  political  party.  It  also  provides,  in  cities  of 
the  first  and  second  class,^  that  the  enrollment  of  party 
voters  shall  take  place  under  the  direction  of  the  public 
inspectors  of  election,  at  the  times  and  places  provided  for 
the  registration  of  voters  for  the  public  elections.  Party 
primaries  in  the  same  cities,  to  insure  fairness,  are  also 
conducted  under  the  direction  of  the  same  public  inspec- 

1  Other  cities,  and  villages  of  5,000  or  more  population,  may,  on  formal 
request  of  a  majority  of  the  voters,  or  on  request  of  the  party  committees, 
come  under  the  provisions  of  this  law.  See  Chapter  223,  Laws  of  1909, 
known  as  the  "  Election  Law." 


THE   CONDUCT  OF  PUBLIC  ELECTIONS.  229 

tors.  Such  primaries  are  known  as  Official  Primaries,  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  unofficial  primaries  conducted 
by  the  regular  party  committees. 

Annual  Primary  Day. — The  seventh  Tuesday  before 
the  general  election  is  Annual  Primary  Day.^  Then  all 
official  primaries  are  held,  except  in  Presidential  years, 
when  they  are  held  on  the  tenth  Tuesday  before  election. 
On  such  Presidential  years  the  last  Tuesday  in  March  is 
an  Additional  Primary  Day  for  the  choice  of  delegates 
to  conventions  having  to  do  with  the  nomination  of  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President. 

Filing  the  Nominations. — The  party  convention  or 
primary  having  chosen  its  candidates  to  be  voted  for  by  the 
people  at  the  public  election,  their  names  must  be  filed 
with  certain  public  officers  designated  by  State  law.  If  the 
nominations  are  for  offices  to  be  filled  by  the  voters  of  the 
entire  State,  such  as  governor  or  secretary  of  state,  or  by 
the  voters  of  a  division  larger  than  a  county,  such  as  a  Con- 
gressional District,  the  names  of  the  candidates  must  be 
filed  with  the  secretary  of  state.  Nominations  for  offices  to 
be  filled  by  the  voters  of  a  county  must  be  filed  with  the 
county  clerk,2  of  a  city  with  the  city  clerk.  Other  local 
nominations  may  be  filed  with  a  town  or  a  village  clerk. 
Bodies  of  citizens  not  connected  with  any  of  the  regular 
political  parties,  may  nominate  candidates  "  by  petition," 
as  it  is  called.  This  is  done  by  getting  a  certain  number 
of  voters  to  sign  a  paper  naming  a  particular  candidate. 

Registering  the  Voters. — For  purposes  of  conducting  pub- 
lic elections,  the  State  is  divided  into  election  districts,  each 

1  Except  in  New  York  City,  where  Primary  Day  is  the  sixth  or  eighth  Tues- 
day before  election,  instead. 

2  Except  in  a  few  counties  which  have  commissioners  of  elections. 


230  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK. 

district  having  one  polling  place.  In  towns  and  villages  the 
election  districts  are  few  in  number ;  in  large  cities  they 
sometimes  number  hundreds.  At  every  polling  place,  a 
certain  number  of  days  before  election,  officers  known  as 
the  board  of  registry  meet  to  register  the  qualified  voters  of 
the  district.  As  already  stated,  ^  every  voter  must  be  regis- 
tered before  he  can  vote.  No  matter  how  well  a  voter  may 
be  otherwise  qualified,  if  he  fails  to  register,  he  cannot  vote. 
This  is  a  rule  adopted  to  prevent  fraudulent  voting.  In 
cities  and  villages  of  the  first  class,  the  board  of  registry 
holds  four  meetings,  and  each  voter  must  present  himself 
personally  to  be  registered.  In  country  districts,  and 
smaller  villages,  but  two  meetings  of  the  board  of  registry 
are  held,  and  it  is  not  always  necessary  that  a  voter  be  pres- 
ent personally  to  be  registered. 

The  Public  Election.— The  General  State  Election  is  held 
annually,  on  the  first  Tuesday  following  the  first  Monday  in 
November,  and  the  polling  places  throughout  the  State 
must  be  open  on  that  day  from  6  A.  m.  to  5  p.  m.  for  the  re- 
ception of  ballots.  The  election  officers  in  each  district 
consist  of  four  inspectors  of  election,  two  poll  clerks,  and 
two  ballot  clerks — all  divided  equally  between  the  two 
leading  political  parties. 

Official  Ballots. — Official  ballots  to  the  number  of  twice 
the  registered  voters  are  provided  at  each  polling  place  at 
public  expense,  and  none  but  such  ballots  may  be  voted. 
The  official  ballot  contains  in  separate  party  columns,  each 
headed  by  the  party  emblem,  the  names  of  all  the  candidates 
duly  nominated  and  to  be  voted  for  by  each  political  party, 
and  by  each  body  of  citizens  making  independent  nomina- 
tions.    There  is  also  a  blank  column  on  the  ballot  in  which 

1  Chapter  XII.,  «  The  Right  to  Vote. " 


w 

O 

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For  Prreidrat, 

WILLIAM  UcKINLET 

For  Vio^Presidrat, 

raEODOKKRlM^<SEVELT 

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WILUiM  J.  BRYAN 

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\DLAI R  STEVENSON 

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OSEPH  F.  MALLONET 

For  Vice-President, 
VALENTLNE  REMMEL 

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JOHN  Q.  WOOLLEY 
For  Vice-President, 
HEJfRYRMETCALF 

DiUEPENDENT 
NOMINATIONS 

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WCIUOCIIOClliTlC  TICttT 

ForPresiJnit, 
EUGENE  V.  DEBS 
For  Vice-President. 
JOB  H.ARRIMAN 

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SPECIMEN    BALLOT. 


231 


232  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW  YORK, 

any  voter  may  write  the  name  of  any  person  for  whom  he 
wishes  to  vote,  if  the  name  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the 
party  or  independent  columns. 

Marking  the  Ballots. — As  each  voter  enters  the  polling 
place  to  vote,  his  name  is  announced  by  the  election  offi- 
cials and  he  is  given  an  official  ballot,  which  he  takes  into 
one  of  a  number  of  secret  voting  booths  provided  in  the 
polling  place.  There  in  secret  the  voter  marks  his  ballot. 
If  he  wishes  to  vote  a  "  straight  party  ticket,"  that  is  for  the 
candidates  nominated  by  a  single  political  party,  he  makes 
an  "  X"  mark  in  a  circle  which  is  printed  at  the  head  of  that 
party's  column  on  the  ballot.  If  he  wishes  to  vote  a  "  split 
ticket,"  that  is,  to  divide  his  vote  among  the  candidates  of 
different  parties,  he  makes  an  "  X  "  mark  before  the  name 
of  each  candidate  for  whom  he  wishes  to  vote. 

Voting. — After  the  voter  has  marked  his  ballot,  he  folds 
it,  with  the  names  inside,  so  that  no  person  can  see  for  whom 
he  has  voted,  comes  out  of  the  secret  booth  and  hands  the 
folded  ballot  to  one  of  the  election  officers,  who,  if  the  vote 
is  not  challenged,  deposits  it  in  the  ballot  box. 

Any  person's  vote  may  be  challenged  by  an  inspector  of  the  election, 
and  must  be  challenged  on  the  written  request  of  any  voter.  When 
challenged,  the  person  offering  to  vote  is  questioned,  under  oath,  as  to 
his  qualifications  as  a  voter,  and  if  he  swears  (or  affirms)  that  he  has 
the  requisite  age,  residence,  citizenship,  etc.,  his  vote  is  received  ;  other- 
wise it  must  be  rejected. 

This  secret  method  of  voting  with  official  ballots  supplied 
through  public  officers,  at  public  expense,  is  called  the 
Australian  system,  because  it  was  first  used  in  Australia. 
The  secret  vote  gives  every  voter  an  opportunity  to  deposit 
a  ballot  for  the  men  of  his  choice  without  fear  of  intimida- 
tion.    It  also  tends  to  prevent  bribery  at  elections. 


THE   CONDUCT  OF  PUBLIC  ELECTIONS.  233 

Counting  the  Ballots. — The  votes  are  immediately,  at  the 
closing  of  the  polls  in  each  election  district,  pubHcly  counted 
by  the  inspectors  of  election,  and  the  result  is  filed  with  the 
county  clerk.  The  supervisors  of  each  county  then  meet  as  a 
board  of  county  canvassers,  to  determine  the  results  of  the 
election,  from  the  reports  filed  with  the  county  clerk.  The 
successful  candidates  for  county  offices  receive  certificates 
of  election  from  the  county  clerk.  The  report  of  the  can- 
vass of  each  county  board,  for  State  officers,  and  officers 
of  districts  larger  than  a  county,  is  sent  to  a  State  board 
of  canvassers,  consisting  of  the  secretary  of  state  and  other 
State  officers.  This  State  board  is  the  final  authority  in 
determining  the  results  of  the  election. ^  The  successful 
candidates  receive  certificates  of  election  from  the  secre- 
tary of  state.  The  successful  candidate  for  any  office  is 
the  one  who  is  found  to  have  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
polled  for  the  office.  It  is  not  necessary  that  he  have  a 
majority  of  the  votes.^  The  ballots  are  preserved  for  six 
months,  so  that  they  may  be  reexamined,  on  the  order  of 
a  court,  in  case  of  a  dispute. 

The  Oath  of  Office — Provisions  against  Bribery. — 
Members  of  the  State  legislature  and  all   State   officers, 

1  With  two  exceptions  :  the  courts  may  intervene  to  correct  error  or  fraud,  and 
each  legislative  body  (assembly,  senate,  federal  house  of  representatives)  is  the 
final  authority. as  to  election  of  its  own  members.  All  elections,  even  for  repre- 
sentatives and  presidential  electors,  are  conducted  under  State  law,  and  State 
officers  are  the  final  authority  in  determiningthe  election  of  presidential  electors. 

2  The  candidate  polling  the  most  votes  for  a  particular  office  is  said  to  have 
a  plurality  of  the  votes  cast.  This  is  not  necessarily  a  majority  of  the  votes. 
A  majority  means  more  than  half  the  votes  cast  for  a  particular  office.  In 
case  of  three  candidates  for  the  same  office,  if  A  had  5,000  votes,  B,  10,000, 
C,  15,001,  C  would  have  a  majority;  but  if  C  had  instead  14,000  he  would 
have  only  a  plurality.  Most  other  States,  like  New  York,  require  only  a 
plurality  to  elect.     A  very  few  require  a  majority  vote  for  some  offices. 


234  GOVERNMENT  OF  NEW   YORK. 

executive  and  judicial,  except  inferior  officers  exempt  by 
law,  must,  before  they  enter  upon  the  duties  of  their  offices, 
take,  before  a  public  officer  authorized  to  receive  an  oath,  an 
oath  or  affirmation  to  support  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  the  State  constitution,  and  faithfully  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  their  offices ;  and  each  must,  in  addition, 
solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  he  has  not  directly  or 
indirectly  paid,  offered  or  promised  to  pay,  contributed,  or 
offered,  or  promised  to  contribute,  any  money  or  other 
valuable  thing  as  a  consideration  or  reward  for  the  giving 
or  withholding  of  a  vote,  at  the  election  at  which  he  was 
chosen ;  and  that  he  has  not  made  any  promise  to  influence 
the  giving  or  withholding  of  any  vote.^  Any  officeholder 
who  receives  anything  of  value  for  performing  or  omitting 
to  perform  any  official  duty,  is  guilty  of  a  felony ;  and  any 
person  who  promises  or  offers  a  bribe  to  an  officeholder  for 
such  a  purpose,  is  guilty  of  a  f  elony.^  A  person  who  offers 
or  accepts  a  bribe  for  the  giving  or  withholding  of  a  vote 
at  an  election  forfeits  his  right  to  vote  at  that  election.  The 
crime  of  bribery  is  peculiarly  vicious,  in  that  it  strikes  at 
the  very  foundation  of  self-government. 

Corrupt  Practices  Act. — Candidates  and  parties  may 
incur  legitimate  expenses,  as  for  traveling  expenses,  tele- 
graph and  messenger  service,  the  distribution  of  circulars, 
the  holding  of  public  meetings.  The  party's  campaign  fund 
is  derived  from  voluntary  contributions,  which  ought  to  be 
made  only  for  patriotic  reasons.  In  former  times,  however, 
large  sums  have  been  corruptly  raised  and  corruptly  spent 
in  swaying  elections.     To  check  this  evil,  the  law^  now 

1  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  XIII.,  Section  i. 

'^  New  York  State  Constitution,  Article  XIIL,  Sections  2  and  3. 

*  Sections  540  to  561  of  the  Election  Law. 


THE   CONDUCT  OF  PUBLIC  ELECTIONS.  235 

applies  the  remedy  of  publicity  by  requiring  that  all  candi- 
dates, except  for  town  and  village  offices,  shall  make  state- 
ments of  their  election  expenses ;  and  that  the  treasurer  of 
each  political  committee  shall  likewise  make  a  statement 
of  campaign  receipts  and  expenditures.  These  statements 
are  filed  with  the  secretary  of  state  and  are  open  to  public 
inspection. 

Time  of  Elections. — As  we  have  already  learned  (pp.  1 5, 
36,  47,  204),  local  elections  are  to  a  large  extent  held  on  dif- 
ferent days  from  the  State  and  national  elections,  in  order 
that  local  questions  may  not  be  dominated  by  party  politics. 
In  the  general  elections,  representatives  in  the  United  States 
Congress,  presidential  electors,  State  executive  officers  and 
State  senators  are  chosen  in  even-numbered  years ;  judges 
of  the  State  courts,  assemblymen  and  county  officers,  in 
either  even  or  odd  numbered  years. 

Reforms. — Various  measures  of  reform  are  urged  by 
many  people  in  connection  with  elections : 

The  Massachusetts  Ballot. — In  the  Massachusetts  ballot 
the  names  of  candidates  appear  in  alphabetical  order  under 
the  name  of  each  office,  making  it  necessary  for  the  voter 
to  mark  a  separate  x  for  each  person  voted  for.  This 
makes  the  voter  consider  the  candidates  separately  and 
encourages  split  tickets. 

The  Short  Ballot. — On  the  other  hand,  the  advocates  of 
the  short  ballot  say  that  voters  cannot  give  adequate  con- 
sideration to  so  many  candidates.  They  propose  to  reduce 
the  number  of  elective  offices,  making  more  officers  ap- 
pointive, and  concentrating  power  and  responsibility  in 
fewer  hands. 

The  Voting  Machine. — Voting  machines  are  complicated 
and  expensive,  but  work  rapidly,  so  that  fewer  election  dis- 


236  GOVERNMENT   OF  NEW    YORK. 

tricts  and  fewer  election  officials  are  necessary.  Moreover, 
they  make  ballot-box  frauds  impossible  and  show  the  result 
of  the  election  as  soon  as  the  voting  is  ended.  Their  use 
in  this  State  is  permitted  by  law,  and  they  have  been  in- 
troduced in  some  parts  of  the  State. 

Direct  Primaries. — There  is  a  growing  feeling  that  most 
if  not  all  nominations  for  pubHc  office  should  be  made  at 
the  primaries.  Such  a  system,  known  as  the  "  Direct  Pri- 
mary," is  in  operation  in  a  number  of  the  Western  and 
Southern  States.  It  is  designed  to  take  nominations  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  political  "boss"  and  put  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  people. 

SUMMARY. 

A  candidate  for  public  office  must  usually  win  a  nomina- 
tion from  a  political  party  before  he  can  win  an  election  at 
the  polls ;  for  this  reason  the  State  regulates  by  law  the  con- 
duct of  political  parties,  which  are  organized  along  the  lines 
of  the  different  poHtical  divisions — State  and  local. 

Nominations  for  public  office  are  made  in  party  primaries 
and  conventions,  the  names  of  the  nominees  filed  with  the 
public  election  officials  and  placed  upon  an  official  ballot, 
which  is  given  to  every  qualified  voter  at  the  polls  on  elec- 
tion day. 

The  State  is  divided  into  election  districts,  each  having 
its  own  polling  place  and  its  own  local  election  officials. 

Voting  is  done  in  secret  and  the  votes  are  publicly  counted 
by  the  election  officials  of  each  district,  and  the  result  filed 
with  the  county  clerk. 

The  boards  of  supervisors,  acting  as  boards  of  county  can- 
vassers, canvass  the  results  of  the  election  in  the  several 
counties,  and  report  to  the  State  board  of  canvassers,  which 


THE   CONDUCT  OF  PUBLIC  ELECTIONS,  237 

is  the  final  authority  in  determining  the  results  of  a  general 
election. 

SUGGESTIVE    QUESTIONS. 

What  is  an  official  ballot  ?     What  must  it  contain  ? 

What  is  a  political  party  under  the  laws  of  New  York  ? 

What  is  a  primary  ?  How  does  it  differ  from  a  nominat- 
ing convention  ?  Who  are  entitled  to  attend  and  take  part 
in  a  primary  or  caucus  ?  In  a  nominating  convention  ?  De- 
scribe briefly  the  manner  of  enrolling  party  voters  in  this 
State. 

With  whom  must  nominations  for  a  State  office  be  hlea  t 
A  county  office  ?  For  member  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives ?  What  is  meant  by  an  independent  nomination  ? 
What  feature  of  the  official  ballot  gives  a  voter  absolute  free- 
dom in  expressing  his  choice  for  the  occupant  of  any  par- 
ticular office  ? 

How  may  a  legal  voter  lose  his  right  to  vote  at  a  particu- 
lar election  ? 

Name  the  election  officers  required  in  each  election  dis- 
trict. 

Explain  the  terms  "  plurality  "  and  "  majority." 

Give  the  substance  of  the  oath  of  office  required  of  State 
officials. 

In  which  congressional  district  do  you  live  ?  In  which 
judicial  district?  senatorial  district?  assembly  district? 
county?  school  district?  If  in  a  city,  what  is  the  number 
of  your  ward  or  aldermanic  district  ? 

What  are  the  arguments  for  and  against  direct  primaries  ? 
the  use  of  voting  machines  ?  the  Massachusetts  ballot  ?  the 
short  ballot  ? 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
The  State  and  the  United  States. 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  been  speaking  of  New  York  as  an 
independent  pohtical  unit,  doing  its  own  public  work,  through 
the  State  and  local  governments  which  its  people  have  created. 
We  shall  now  speak  of  New  York  as  a  part  of  the  United 
States — the  great  national  state  ^  of  which  New  York  is  one 
of  forty-six  local  States  or  commonwealths.  How  did  New 
York  become  a  part  of  the  independent  nation  known  as  the 
United  States  ?  To  answer  this  question  we  must  go  back  to 
the  time  when  the  people  of  thirteen  British  colonies,  lying 
between  the  Appalachian  Mountains  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
— weak  in  men  and  arms,  but  strong  in  their  sense  of  justice 
and  personal  freedom — were  struggling  with  Parliament  and 
king  for  their  constitutional  rights  as  Englishmen. 

Taxation  Without  Consent. — The  war  of  the  American 
revolution,  as  everybody  knows,  was  fought  mainly  over  the 
question  of  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  people  of  the 
colonies   without   their   consent.     For   hundreds   of   years 

•  The  word  "  state  "  is  here  used  in  its  general  sense,  and  means  the  whole 
body  of  people  united  under  a  single  government,  whatever  its  form.  Thus 
we  may  speak  of  the  "  British  state  "  or  the  "  French  state,"  meaning  the 
people  of  Great  Britain  or  the  people  of  France  united  under  their  respective 
governments.  "  The  state,"  says  Professor  Burgess  in  his  Political  Science 
and  Constitutional  Law,  **  is  a  particular  portion  of  mankind  viewed  as  an 
organized  unit."  In  this  sense  the  United  States  is  the  «♦  state  "  while  the 
word  "  State,"  as  applied  to  local  commonwealths  like  New  York,  Massa- 
chusetts, etc.,  is  to  be  taken  in  a  special  and  limited  sense,  and  as  applying 
only  to  divisions  of  the  real  state. 

238 


THE   STATE  AND    THE    UNITED   STATES.  239 

before  the  Revolutionary  War,  it  had  been  the  constitutional 
right  of  Englishmen  to  pay  taxes  levied  only  by  the  consent 
of  their  chosen  representatives.  When,  in  1 21 5,  King  John 
signed  the  great  charter,  he  agreed  to  levy  no  new  taxes 
except  by  consent  of  the  representatives  of  the  English  peo- 
pie  in  the  "  general  council  of  the  kingdom."  When,  fifty 
years  later,  Earl  Simon  de  Montfort  summoned  the  first 
English  House  of  Commons  in  opposition  to  the  unjust  rule 
of  Henry  III.,  this  body  announced  as  one  of  its  leading 
principles  that  the  people  can  be  taxed  only  by  consent  of 
their  lawfully  chosen  representatives.  In  1297  King  Edward 
I.,  formally  renounced,  by  act  of  ParHament,^  the  right  to 
tax  the  English  people  except  by  consent  of  their  parlia- 
mentary representatives.  Almost  from  the  beginning  of  the 
English  settlements  in  America,  each,  colony  had  its  own 
representative  assembly,  chosen  by  its  own  people,  which 
alone  had  the  right  to  levy  the  provincial  taxes.  Hence 
when  George  III.  tried  to  impose,  through  the  Stamp  Act,  a 
tax  on  the  internal  commerce  of  the  colonies  without  the 
assent  of  the  colonists,  it  seemed  to  them  to  be  an  act  of 
intolerable  tyranny. 

Beginnings  of  Colonial  Union— The  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress.— The  Massachusetts  assembly  took  the  first  impor- 
tant step  against  this  attempt  at  unlawful  taxation,  by  invit- 
ing the  different  colonial  assemblies  to  send  delegates  to  a  gen- 
eral convention  in  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act.  The  invita- 
tion was  accepted,  and  representatives  from  nine  colonies 
met  October  7,  1765,  in  the  New  York  city  hall,  in  what  has 

'  This  was  the  Statutum  de  Tallagie,  by  which  the  right  of  arbitrarily  tax- 
ing the  citizens  and  burgesses  was  relinquished  in  these  words :  "  No  tallage 
or  aid  shall  be  taken  or  levied  by  us  or  our  heirs,  in  our  realm,  without  the 
good  will  and  assent  of  the  archbishops,  earls,  barons,  knights,  burgesses  and 
other  freemen  of  the  land," 


24©  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE   NATION. 

since  been  known  as  the  Stamp  Act  Congress.  This  Con- 
gress or  meeting  drew  up  a  memorial  to  Parhament,  a  peti- 
tion to  the  king,  and  a  declaration  of  rights,  in  which  it  was 
asserted  that  the  people  of  the  colonies  "  are  entitled  to  all 
the  inherent  rights  and  liberties  of  the  king's  natural  born 
subjects  within  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain ;  that  it  is  in- 
separably essential  to  the  freedom  of  a  people  and  the  un- 
doubted right  of  Englishmen,  that  no  taxes  be  imposed 
upon  them,  but  by  their  consent,  given  personally,  or  by 
their  representatives  "  ;  and  that  "  the  only  representatives  of 
the  people  of  these  colonies  are  persons  chosen  by  themselves 
therein  "  ;  and  "  that  no  taxes  ever  have  been,  or  can  be 
constitutionally  imposed  upon  them,  but  by  their  respective 
legislatures."  Every  patriotic  young  American  knows  how 
Parliament,  frightened  into  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
still  insisted  upon  levying  an  impost  duty  on  tea ;  of  the 
struggle  which  followed  the  attempt  to  force  this  taxed  tea 
upon  the  people  ;  of  the  Boston  "  tea  party  " ;  of  the  closing 
of  the  port  of  Boston,  and  the  taking  away  of  the  chartered 
Hberties  of  Massachusetts.^ 

The  First  Continental  Congress. — ^The  people  of  all  the 
colonies  smarted  under  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  Massa- 
chusetts ;  for  they  saw  in  them  danger  not  only  to  Massa- 
chusetts, but  to  the  liberty  of  every  British  subject  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  Everywhere,  throughout  the  colonies, 
there  flamed  out  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  resistance.  The 
result  was  the  calling  of  the  First  Continental  Congress.  It 
met  at  Philadelphia,  September,  1774,  every  colony  except 

'  Parliament  took  from  the  selectmen  of  the  Massachusetts  towns  the 
power  to  summon  juries,  and  gave  this  power  to  sheriffs  appointed  by  the 
king.  Town  meetings  were  prohibited,  and  judges,  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
other  officers  formerly  elected  by  the  people,  were  appointed  by  the  king  or 
by  his  representative. 


THE   STATE  AND    THE   UNITED   STATES,  241 

Georgia  being  represented  by  delegates  chosen  by  its  pro- 
vincial assembly.  The  Continental  Congress  had  no  power 
to  make  laws,  but  it  prepared  a  general  plan  for  commercial 
nonintercourse  with  Great  Britain,  drew  up  a  declaration  of 
rights  and  a  petition  to  Parliament  and  to  the  king  in  which 
it  asked  that  English  subjects  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 
be  given  "  equal  freedom  "  with  EngUshmen  everywhere. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress. — Meanwhile  British 
troops  assembled  at  Boston,  set  out  on  their  memorable  ex- 
pedition to  destroy  the  military  stores  gathered  by  the 
Massachusetts  patriots  at  Concord.  On  the  morning  of 
April  19,  1775,  there  was  fired  at  the  north  bridge  "  the  shot 
heard  round  the  world."  A  few  days  later  the  Second 
Continental  Congress,  composed  of  delegates,  chosen 
principally  by  conventions  of  the  people  in  the  different 
provinces,  though  some  were  still  sent  by  the  provincial  as- 
semblies, met  at  Philadelphia.  This  Congress  at  once  as- 
sumed charge  of  the  common  war  against  Great  Britain; 
began  the  enrollment  of  troops  for  the  colonies ;  assigned 
quotas  of  men  and  money  to  be  raised  by  the  different 
colonies  ;  and  appointed  George  Washington  commander  in 
chief  of  the  colonial  forces, — henceforth  known  as  the  Con- 
tinental Army.  To  these  revolutionary  acts  the  people  of 
the  several  colonies  generally  assented. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  Begins  in  the 
Continental  Congress. — From  the  time  that  the  Continental 
Congress  assumed  the  right  to  manage  the  common  cause 
of  the  colonies,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  our  existence  as  a  na- 
tion began ;  ^  and  the  separate  colonies,  which  had  before 

' "  This  (the  Continental  Congress)  was  the  first  organization  of  the 
American  state.  From  the  moment  of  its  existence  there  was  something 
more  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  than  thirteen  local  governments.     There 


242  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE  NATION, 

been  subject  to  Great  Britain,  now  became  voluntarily  sub- 
ject to  their  representatives  in  the  Continental  Congress. 
The  authority  of  Congress  did  not  however  rest  upon  any 
definite  grant  of  power  by  the  colonies.  It  was  assumed  by 
Congress  and  acquiesced  in  by  the  people.  Congress 
planned  and  recommended,  and  its  plans  and  recommenda- 
tions were  voluntarily  carried  out,  under  the  stress  of  war, 
by  provincial  congresses  chosen  by*  the  people  of  the  differ- 
ent colonies. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence. — Sentiment  for  union 
among  the  colonies  and  in  favor  of  separation  from  Great 
Britain  now  became  almost  universal.  On  May  lo,  1776, 
the  Continental  Congress,  sitting  at  Philadelphia,  "  rec- 
ommended that  the  several  assembHes  and  conventions 
of  the  United  States  Colonies  "  adopt  in  each  colony  "  such 
a  government  as  shall  in  the  opinion  of  the  representatives 
of  the  people  best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of 
their  constituents  in  particular,  and  America  in  general." 
In  plain  words,  this  was  a  recommendation  that  each  colony 
organize  its  own  government  independent  of  Great  Britain. 
On  July  4,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress  acting  <*  as  the 
representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,"  ^  adopted 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  formally  separated 
the  colonies  from  Great  Britain.  In  this  declaration,  it  was 
asserted  that  "  these  United  Colonies,  are  and  of  a  right, 
ought  to  be  free  and  independent  states ;  that  they  are  ab- 
solved from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,"  •'  and  that 

was  a  sovereignty,  a  state ;  not  an  idea  simply  on  paper,  but  in  fact  and  in 
organization.     The  revolution  was  an  accomplished  fact  before  the  Declara- 
tion of  1776,  and  so  was  independence." — Burgess,  Political  Science  and 
Constitutional  Law. 
>  Heading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


THE  STATE  AND    THE    UNITED  STATES.  243 

as  free  and  independent  states  they  have  full  power  to  levy 
war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce 
and  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  states 
may  of  right  do."  Such  was  the  formal  birth  of  the  nation, 
of  which  New  York  is  now  one  of  the  local  commonwealths 
or  States. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation. — Thus  far  the  authority 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  which  had  put  forth  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  raised  armies,  laid  taxes,  and  con- 
tracted a  common  debt  for  the  colonies  to  carry  on  their 
common  war,  had  been  an  authority  of  undefined  powers, 
voluntarily  submitted  to  by  the  people  of  the  colonies  act- 
ing through  the  several  provincial  congresses,  or  legisla- 
tures, which  they  had  chosen.  The  people  now  saw  the 
need  of  a  central  government  with  definitely  granted 
authority  and  specifically  defined  powers.  Congress  had 
previously  appointed  a  committee  from  among  its  members 
to  draw  up  such  a  plan  of  government.  This  plan  was  re- 
ported by  the  committee,  eight  days  after  the  adoption  by 
Congress  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  was  de- 
bated by  Congress  and  adopted  November  15,  1777,  in  the 
form  of  "  Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union 
Between  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Rhole  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia."  The 
Articles  of  Confederation,  thus  adopted,  were  submitted  to 
the  legislatures  of  the  thirteen  States,  each  legislature  being 
advised  to  authorize  its  delegates  in  the  Continental  Con- 
gress  to  ratify  or  agree  to  the  articles  for  the  State.  The 
ratification  of  the  last  State — Maryland — was  secured  March 
I,  1781. 


244  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION, 

Government  Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation. — 
The  ratification  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  made  the 
United  States  a  nation  in  law,  as  well  as  in  fact.  Under 
these  articles  the  United  States  occupied  a  position  with 
reference  to  the  several  States,  somewhat  like  that  which 
Great  Britain  had  occupied  towards  the  several  colonies. 
The  articles  affirmed  that  each  State  retained  "  its  sov- 
ereignty, freedom  and  independence  and  every  power 
jurisdiction  and  right,"  "  not  by  this  confederation  espe- 
cially delegated  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled." 
They  also  declared  that  the  States  "  hereby  severally  enter 
into  a  firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other  for  their 
common  defence,  the  security  of  their  liberties  and  their 
mutual  and  general  welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each 
other  against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made  upon  them, 
or  any  of  them."  This  was  the  form  of  government  known 
as  a  confederacy,  or  union  of  States,  rather  than  a  govern- 
ment set  up  by  the  people  of  a  single  Federal  state.* 

Congress  the  Central  Government  of  the  Confedera- 
tion.— Congress  was  the  government  of  the  United  States 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  as  it  had  been  before 
the  adoption  of  these  articles.  It  was  composed  of  from 
two  to  seven  delegates  from  each  State  chosen  annually  by 

»  Professor  Burgess  in  Political  Science  and  Constitutional  Law,  thus  dis- 
tinguishes a  confederacy  from  a  federal  form  of  government  like  that  of  the 
United  States  to-day  :  «*  Confederate  government  is  the  form  in  which,  as  to 
territory  and  population,  the  state  (nation)  is  coextensive  in  its  organization 
with  the  organization  of  the  local  government.  Federal  government  is  the 
form  in  which,  as  to  territory  and  population,  the  state  (nation)  is  coexten- 
sive in  its  organization  with  the  organization  of  the  general  government.  In 
a  confederate  system  there  are  several  States,  an  equal  number  of  local 
governments  and  one  central  government.  In  the  federal  system  we  have 
one  state,  one  central  government  and  several  local  governments." 


THE  STATE  AND    THE   UNITED   STATES.  245 

its  legislature.  Each  State  had  a  single  vote  in  Congress, 
no  matter  how  many  delegates  it  sent.  Each  paid  the  ex- 
penses  of  its  own  delegates,  and  a  State  might  at  any  time 
recall  a  delegate  and  send  another  in  his  place.  The  articles 
gave  Congress  power  to  regulate  and  control  the  foreign 
relations  of  the  several  States  and  of  the  United  States ; 
and  the  control  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States ; 
and  no  State  could  maintain  an  army  or  navy  without  the 
consent  of  Congress.  Congress  had  charge  of  the  national 
finances  ;  determined  the  value  of  coin  and  the  standard  of 
weights  and  measures ;  and  was  the  last  resort  in  all  dis- 
putes between  the  States.  There  were  no  separate  depart- 
ments in  the  new  government,  but  all  powers,  legislative, 
executive  and  judiciary,  were  exercised  by  Congress  which 
met  as  a  single  house.  The  executive  work  of  Congress 
was  conducted  chiefly  by  a  committee  of  one  member  from 
each  State  known  as  the  "  Committee  of  States." 

Weakness  of  Government  Under  the  Confederation. — 
In  the  form  of  national  government  prescribed  by  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  there  were  many  weaknesses  and 
defects,  which  finally  resulted  in  its  entire  overthrow,  and 
the  adoption  of  a  new  form  of  government  under  the 
present  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  main  defect 
was  the  inability  of  Congress  to  enforce  any  of  its  own 
acts,  against  the  wishes  or  indifference  of  individual  States. 
Congress  "  could  ask  the  States  for  money  but  could  not 
compel  them  to  give  it ;  it  could  ask  them  for  troops  but 
could  not  force  them  to  heed  the  requisition;  it  could 
make  treaties  with  foreign  nations,  but  must  trust  the  States 
to  fulfill  them ;  it  could  contract  debts  but  must  rely  upon 
the  States  to  pay  them."  ^     It  could  not  compel  the  States 

1  The  State,  Woodrow  Wilson. 


246  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE  NATION. 

to  abide  by  its  decision  in  disputes  among  themselves.  In 
short,  the  government  of  the  United  States  lacked  executive 
power.  Foreign  nations  would  not  enter  into  treaties  with 
the  United  States  because  the  government  could  not  compel 
the  States  to  observe  those  treaties.  Finally  the  vital 
power  to  levy  and  collect  taxes  was  wholly  lacking,  except 
as  the  Articles  of  Confederation  gave  Congress  power  to 
"  ascertain  the  necessary  sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the 
service  of  the  United  States,"  ^  and  power  to  apportion  the 
rate  of  proportion  to  be  paid  by  each  State.  The  taxes 
themselves  were  to  be  "  laid  and  levied  by  the  authority 
and  direction  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States."  ^  If 
a  State  legislature  neglected  or  refused  to  act,  Congress 
could  not  collect  a  dollar  from  the  State. 

Need  of  a  Stronger  National  Government  Recog- 
nized.— The  central  government  struggled  for  six  years 
against  the  burden  of  weakness  imposed  by  the  insufficient 
executive  power  granted  to  Congress,  gathering  a  constantly 
increasing  harvest  of  disrespect  at  home  and  contempt 
abroad.  Year  after  year  States  failed  to  pay  their  propor- 
tion of  the  national  taxes  apportioned  by  Congress.  Paper 
money  issued  by  the  national  government  became  almost 
worthless,  and  Congress  with  great  difficulty  borrowed 
money  from  France,  Holland,  and  Spain,  to  pay  the  running 
expenses  of  the  government.  Commerce  fell  into  decay. 
Different  States  enacted  burdensome  tariff  laws  against  the 
products  of  neighboring  States.  Some  States,  to  save  ex- 
pense, neglected  to  send  delegates  to  Congress.  Unpaid 
soldiers  of  the  continental  forces  mutinied,  and  insulted 
Congress  at  its  very  doors.     Rebellious  outbreaks  occurred 

» Articles  of  Confederation,  Article  IX. 
*  Articles  of  Confederation,  Article  VIII. 


7y/£   STATE  AND    THE   UNITED   STATES.  247 

in  a  number  of  States.  Spain  threatened  to  make  trouble 
over  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Great  Britain, 
although  the  w^ar  of  the  revolution  had  ended,  refused  to 
withdraw  her  troops  from  our  western  borders.  The  coun- 
try became  rapidly  convinced  of  the  need  of  a  stronger 
national  government. 

Call  for  a  Convention  to  Frame  a  New  National 
Government. — In  1786,  delegates  from  five  States  met  in 
convention  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  to  discuss  the  regulation  of 
commerce  among  the  different  States.  Members  of  this 
meeting  proposed  a  convention  of  delegates  from  all  the 
States,  •*  to  take  into  consideration  the  situation  of  the  United 
States,  to  devise  such  further  provisions  as  shall  appear  to 
them  necessary  to  render  the  constitution  of  the  Federal 
government  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the  Union,  and  to 
report  such  an  act  for  that  purpose  to  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled."  This  proposition  was  sent  to  the 
legislatures  of  all  the  States.  It  was  also  sent  to  Congress, 
which  approved  the  calling  of  the  convention. 

The  Constitutional  Convention. — Delegates  to  the  pro- 
posed convention  were  chosen  by  the  legislatures  of  all  the 
States  except  Rhode  Island,  and  it  met  in  May,  1787,  at 
Philadelphia.  It  was  composed  of  fifty-five  delegates,  among 
them  being  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  country. 
Washington  was  chosen  president  of  the  convention,  which 
sat  with  closed  doors  and  debated  all  questions  in  secret. 
Each  State,  as  in  the  Continental  Congress,  had  a  single 
vote. 

Three  Great  Compromises. — How  may  the  national 
government  be  made  strong  enough,  without,  at  the  same 
time,  infringing  the  rights  of  the  States  and  the  liberties  of 
the  people  .?     This  was  the  question  that  at  once  confronted 


248  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

the  convention.  All  agreed  that  Congress,  the  central 
lawmaking  body,  should  be  continued  ;  but  a  radical  differ- 
ence of  opinion  arose  as  to  how  the  States  should  be  rep- 
resented in  Congress.  The  larger  and  more  populous 
States,  as  Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  declared  that  each 
State  should  be  represented  in  proportion  to  its  popula- 
tion; but  the  smaller  States,  like  New  Jersey  and  Con- 
necticut, demanded  equal  representation.  It  was  finally 
agreed  that  Congress  should  be  composed  of  two  houses,  a 
Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives ;  that  each  State 
should  be  equally  represented  in  the  senate,  but  repre- 
sented in  proportion  to  its  population  in  the  house. 

A  difference  of  opinion  then  arose  between  the  Northern 
and  the  Southern  States  as  to  whether  negro  slaves  should 
be  counted  in  reckoning  population  to  determine  a  State's 
representation  in  the  house.  The  convention  finally  de- 
decided  that  five  slaves  should  be  counted  as  equal  to  three 
citizens  for  purposes  of  representation. 

A  third  point  of  dispute  arose  between  the  New  Eng- 
land commercial  States  and  the  Southern  planting  States. 
Shall  Congress  have  the  power  by  a  simple  majority  vote 
to  pass  laws  regulating  trade }  "  Yes,"  said  the  North ; 
"  No,"  said  the  South,  "  not  unless  our  right  to  import 
slaves  remains  untouched."  The  dispute  was  settled  by 
a  third  compromise,  in  which  it  was  agreed  that  Congress 
may,  by  a  majority  vote,  regulate  trade,  and  that  the  im- 
portation of  slaves  should  not  be  prohibited  until  after  1808. 

The  convention  proceeded  to  draft  the  present  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  placing  in  it  an  article  ^  to  the 
effect  that  when  conventions  of  the  people  in  nine  States 
should  agree  to  the  proposed  new  constitution,  it  should  be- 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  VII. 


THE  STATE  AND    THE    UNITED  STATES.  249 

come  binding  law  for  those  States.  The  convention  then 
sent  the  proposed  constitution  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
advising  that  body  to  agree  to  it,  and  to  send  it  unamended 
to  conventions  to  be  called  in  the  different  States  for  its 
ratification. 

The  Constitution  Ratified  by  State  Conventions. — A 
convention  chosen  by  the  voters  of  Delaware  was  the  first 
to  agree  to  the  proposed  constitution,  as  recommended  by 
Congress  and  by  the  national  constitutional  convention. 
This  was  soon  followed  by  the  ratification  of  the  constitution 
by  the  convention  in  Pennsylvania.  By  June,  1788,  conven- 
tions chosen  in  nine  States  had  formally  ratified  the  new  con- 
stitution. By  August  two  more  States  had  agreed  to  it,  and 
Congress,  in  September,  1788,  appointed  the  first  Wednes- 
day  of  the  following  February,  as  the  time  for  the  election 
of  a  president  and  vice  president  of  the  United  States  under 
the  new  constitution.^  It  also  appointed  the  first  Wednes- 
day in  March  (March  4,  1789),  as  the  time  for  the  organ- 
ization of  the  new  government  of  the  United  States.  The 
authority  of  the  old  Continental  Congress,  authorized  by  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  then  ceased.  On  March  4,  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  under  the  new  constitution, 
assembled  in  New  York,  and  on  April  30,  George  Washing, 
ton  was  formally  inaugurated  as  the  first  President  of  the 
United  States.  Such  was  the  birth  of  the  United  States  of 
America  under  the  constitution  now  in  force. 

SUMMARY. 

New  York  is  one  of  the  many  local  commonwealths  or 
States  in  the  national  state  known  as  the  United  States. 

^  Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina  did  not  ratify  the  Constitution  until  the 
year  after  the  new  government  of  the  United  States  went  into  effect. 


250  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  began  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  whose  acts  were  acquiesced  in,  and  whose 
recommendations  were  voluntarily  carried  out  by  the  thir- 
teen colonies,  under  stress  of  war  during  the  American 
Revolution. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  formally  separated  the 
American  colonies  from  Great  Britain  ;  and  the  adoption  of 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  made  the  United  States  a 
nation  in  law,  as  well  as  in  fact. 

Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  Congress  was  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  Congress  consisted  of  a 
single  legislative  body,  in  which  each  State  had  one  vote. 
There  were  no  separate  executive  and  judiciary  departments 
in  the  national  government. 

The  chief  fault  of  government  under  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation was  the  inability  of  Congress  to  collect  taxes  and 
enforce  any  laws  of  the  United  States.  Congress  could  only 
recommend  and  advise,  leaving  its  wishes  to  be  carried  out 
by  the  separate  State  governments. 

The  need  of  a  stronger  national  government  resulted  in 
the  calling  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1787,  which 
framed  the  present  constitution  of  the  United  States.  The 
constitution  was  submitted  to  conventions  of  the  people  in 
the  several  States,  with  the  understanding  that,  when  rati- 
fied by  nine  States,  it  should  become  the  legal  basis  of  a 
national  government  for  those  States. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  state  "  as  applied  to 
New  York  ?     As  applied  to  the  United  States  ? 

What  functions  did  the  so-called  "  Provincial  Congresses  " 
perform  during  the  Revolutionary  War? 


THE   STATE  AND    THE   UNITED   STATES.  251 

When  may  the  actual  govenimcnt  of  the  United  States  be 
said  to  have  begun  ?  Was  this  government  voluntary  or 
compulsory  so  far  as  the  individual  States  were  concerned  ? 
What  formal  document  made  the  United  States  a  govern- 
ment in  law,  as  well  as  in  fact  ? 

Describe  generally  the  powers  of  Congress  under  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation.  How  were  the  States  represented 
in  Congress?  What  was  their  relative  power  one  to  an- 
other in  that  body  ? 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  confederation  and  a 
federal  state  ?  Which  of  these  terms  now  applies  to  the 
United  States  ? 

Describe  generally,  the  weakness  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 

Give  in  detail  the  steps  leading  up  to  the  calling  of  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1787.  How  were  delegates  to 
that  convention  chosen?  What  were  the  relative  powers 
of  the  States  in  the  convention  ?  What  part  had  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  the  ratification  of  the  constitution 
framed  by  this  convention  ?  When  and  where  did  the 
government  of  the  United  States  under  the  present  consti- 
tution begin  ? 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

For  an  account  of  government  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
and  the  growth  of  the  idea  of  the  need  of  a  stronger  national  govern- 
ment, with  an  account  of  events  leading  up  to  the  adoption  of  the 
present  constitution  of  the  United  States,  see  Hildreth's  History  of  the 
United  States,  Volume  III.,  Chapters  XLIV.  to  XLVIII.  See  in  the 
same  connection  Schouler's  Constitutional  Studies,  Part  II.,  Chapters 
III.  and  IV.,  "Articles  of  Confederation,"  and  "The  Federal  Con- 
stitution:  Its  Nature  and  Establishment." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
The  United  States,  the  States,  and  the  People. 

Let  us  look  at  the  government  established  by  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  at  the  rights  and 
duties  of  the  national  government,  of  the  States,  and  of  the 
people,  under  that  constitution. 

The  United  States  a  Nation.— First,  the  United  States 
is,  under  the  present  constitution,  one  indivisible  national 
state  ^  and  not  a  league  of  States  with  a  central  national 
government,  as  under  the  old  Articles  of  Confederation. 
The  difference  may  be  shown  by  a  comparison. 

A  Comparison. — Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
Congress — then  constituting  the  government  of  the  United 
States — dealt  almost  exclusively  with  the  governments  of 
the  several  States.  Under  the  present  constitution  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  deals  chiefly  with  the  people  of 
the  United  States^  and  but  little  with  the  governments  of 
the  several  States.  Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  if 
Congress  wanted  money,  it  applied  to  the  governments  of 
the  several  States.  Now,  the  government  of  the  United 
States  collects  taxes  directly  from  the  people  by  its  own 
revenue  officers  located  in  every  State.  Under  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  members  of  Congress  were  elected  by 
State  legislatures ;  when  they  voted  the  members  from  each 

' "  The  state  is  a  particular  portion  of  mankind  viewed  as  an  organized 
unit." — Burgess,  Polilical  Science  and  Constitutional  Law. 
252 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  253 

State  voted  as  a  unit,  casting  a  single  ballot /(?r  their  State. 
Under  the  present  constitution  members  of  the  United 
States  Congress  (except  senators)  are  chosen  by  direct  vote 
of  the  people,  and  all  congressmen  vote  in  Congress  as  in- 
dividuals. Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  each  State 
admitted  foreigners  to  citizenship.  To-day  the  government 
of  the  United  States  alone  admits  foreigners  to  citizenship.^ 
The  Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted  by  the  legisla- 
tures of  the  several  States.  The  present  constitution,  ac- 
cording to  its  own  preamble,  is  the  work  of  "  the  people  of 
the  United  States  "  adopted  "  to  form  a  more  perfect  union." 
Finally,  as  still  further  showing  the  oneness  of  the  United 
States  under  the  present  constitution,  all  members  of  the 
several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  of- 
ficers of  the  States,  must  on  taking  office,  swear  or  affirm 
that  they  will  support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.^ 
The  United  States  a  Permanent  and  Indissoluble  Union, 
— It  was  held  by  some,  after  the  adoption  of  the  present 
constitution,  and  down  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  of 
1 86 1-5,  that  a  State  had  a  legal  right  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union  established  by  the  constitution,  if  its  people  saw  fit. 
Eleven  States,  we  know,  did  attempt  to  secede  from  the 
Union  at  the  time  of  the  civil  war.  They  recalled  their  rep- 
resentatives  in  the  United  States  Congress,  and  tried  to  set 
up  a  government  known  as  the  "  Confederate  States  of 
America."  A  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
did  not  believe,  however,  in  this  right  of  a  State  to  with- 
draw from  the  Union ;  and  the  so-called  Confederate  States, 
as  a  result  of  the  Civil  War,  were  forced  back  into  the  United 

'See  United  States  Constitution,  XlVth  Amendment;  also  Chapter  XII., 
••  The  Right  to  Vote." 

2  United  States  Constitution,  Article  VI.,  Section  3. 


254  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE  NATION. 

States.  Indeed,  it  is  claimed  that  these  States  were  never 
legally  out  of  the  Union. 

The  People  and  the  Government. — In  studying  the  gov- 
ernment established  by  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  we  must  keep  in  mind :  i .  That  the  real  United 
States  consists  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  united  for 
purposes  of  government.  The  people  thus  constituted  are 
the  real  national  state,  as  the  people  of  New  York,  united 
for  purposes  of  government,  are  the  real  New  York  State. 
2.  That  the  people,  in  adopting  the  constitution,  laid  down 
in  outline  the  framework  and  machinery  of  a  national  gov- 
ernment known  as  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
which  is  superior  for  certain  purposes  to  the  governments 
of  the  several  States.  3.  That  back  of  the  constitution, 
back  of  the  national  government  which  the  constitution 
establishes,  and  back  of  the  governments  of  the  several 
States,  stand  the  people  of  the  United  States — the  organized 
political  unit,  the  national  state.  The  people  thus  con- 
stituted are  the  supreme  law-making  power.  The  people 
may  change  their  constitution  and  form  of  government  as 
they  see  fit,  having  always  due  regard  to  the  legal  forms 
under  which  they  have  ordained  that  such  changes  shall  be 
made. 

The  Constitution  the  Supreme  Law. — The  fundamental 
law  of  the  United  States  is  laid  down  by  the  people  in  the 
written  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  in  its  amend- 
ments. The  constitution  "and  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  made  in  pursuance  thereof"  are  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land.^  All  statutes  passed  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  or  by  any  State  legislature,  must  be  in  accord 
with  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  ;  and  anything  in 

'  United  States  Constitution,  Article  VI.,  Section  2. 


THE  STATES,   AND    THE  PEOPLE.  255 

the  constitution  or  statutes  of  any  State  not  in  accord  with 
the  constitution,  laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States  is 
void  and  of  no  effect. 

State  Governments  Independent  of  the  National  Gov- 
ernment for  State  Purposes. — But  while  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States  are  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land,  we  must  not  fall  into  the  error  of  regarding  the 
authority  of  the  several  State  governments  as  derived 
primarily  from  the  constitution.  Neither  must  we  think 
that  the  State  governments  depend  in  any  way  for  their 
existence  upon  the  will  of  the  national  government.  On 
the  contrary,  the  State  governments  existed  before  our  pres- 
ent constitution  and  national  government,  and  their  author- 
ity, like  the  authority  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  comes  from  the  people  alone. 

Division  of  the  Powers  of  Government. —  Under  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States  the  people  have  divided 
the  powers  of  government  into : 

1.  Powers  to  be  exercised  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States ; 

2.  Powers  to  be  exercised  by  the  governments  of  the 
several  States ; 

3.  Powers  to  be  exercised  by  none  of  these  govern- 
ments, but  reserved  to  the  people. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  One  of  Specific- 
ally Given  Powers. — The  tenth  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  declares  "  that  the  powers  not 
delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  constitution,  nor  pro- 
hibited by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively  or  to  the  people."  This  makes  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  one  of  powers  specifically  given 
to  It  by  the  constitution ^  and  leaves  all  other  powers  to  the 


256  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION, 

States  or  to  the  people.  Hence,  should  the  question  arise, 
"  Does  a  power  belong  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  ?  "  the  answer  is,  "  Yes,  if  the  constitution  gives  it  to 
the  United  States ;  no,  if  the  constitution  does  not  give  it  to 
the  United  States." 

Concurrent  Powers. — The  constitution  permits  certain 
powers,  such  as  the  right  of  taxation,  to  be  exercised  both  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States  and  by  the  governments 
of  the  several  States.  Such  powers  are  known  as  "  con- 
current powers."  Should  at  any  time  a  conflict  of  authority 
arise  between  the  United  States  and  a  State,  over  the  ex- 
ercise of  a  so-called  concurrent  power,  the  State  must  yield 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States.^ 

Prohibited  Powers. — Finally,  the  people,  through  the 
constitution,  have  prohibited  both  the  government  of  the 
United  States  and  the  governments  of  the  several  States 
from  exercising  certain  specified  powers.  These  prohibited 
powers  are  reserved  in  the  people,  and  cannot  be  exercised 
by  government  unless  the  constitution  is  changed. 

Powers  Exercised  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. — Certain  powers  are  exercised  by  the  government 
of  the  United  States  only.  These  are  "  powers  that  relate 
to  the  conduct  of  the  foreign  relations  of  the  country  and 
to  such  common  national  purposes  as  the  army  and  navy, 
internal  commerce,  weights  and  measures,  and  the  post 
office,  with  provisions  for  the  management  of  the  ma- 
chinery "  "  charged  with  these  purposes."  ^  Other  powers,  as 
we  have  seen,  may  be  exercised  both  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States  and  by  the  States.  Among  these  latter 
are  the  power  to  make  laws  on  certain  specified  subjects, 

»  139  United  States  Reports,  p.  240;   158  United  States  Reports,  p.  98. 
2  Bryce,  American  Coffimonwealth. 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  257 

such  as  bankruptcy,  and  the  power  to  tax.  The  rule  in  the 
exercise  of  such  concurrent  powers  is,  that  State  laws  take 
effect  only  when  the  United  States  has  made  no  law  upon 
the  particular  subject. 

Control  of  Foreign  Relations. — The  government  of  the 
United  States  has  entire  control  over  our  relations  with  the 
people  and  governments  of  foreign  nations.  Thus  United 
States  tariff  laws  tax  goods  brought  into  this  country; 
while  the  United  States  senate,  in  conjunction  with  the 
president,  may  make  agreements  to  admit  free,  or  at  a  low 
rate  of  duty,  the  products  of  foreign  nations  that  freely  ad- 
mit the  products  of  the  United  States.  Such  an  agreement 
is  called  a  "  Reciprocity  Treaty."  The  government  of  the 
United  States  naturalizes  foreigners,  and  admits  them  to 
citizenship ;  prohibits  undesirable  immigrants,  such  as 
anarchists,  paupers,  and  criminals,  from  entering  our  terri- 
tory ;  sends  ambassadors,  ministers,  and  consuls,  to  repre- 
sent the  United  States  before  foreign  governments ;  and 
receives  similar  officials  sent  to  us.  No  State  may  hold 
any  official  intercourse  with  the  government  of  a  foreign 
nation. 

Control  on  the  High  Seas. — As  the  government  of  the 
United  States  controls  our  foreign  relations,  so  it  controls 
citizens  of  the  United  States  when  on  the  high  seas  or  on  the 
tidewaters  of  the  United  States.  Generally  speaking  the  so- 
called  "  high  seas  "  are  the  great  body  of  ocean  waters  lying 
outside  of  a  line  drawn  a  marine  league  (about  three  miles) 
from  the  shore.  Each  nation  controls  the  water  within  a 
marine  league  of  the  shore,  as  it  controls  its  land.  Outside 
this  line  no  nation  has  exclusive  control,  except  over  its  own 
citizens.  The  constitution  gives  Congress  power  to  define 
and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  and  offenses  against  the  law 


258  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

of  nations,  when  committed  on  the  high  seas  by  citizens  of 
the  United  States.^ 

War  Powers. — The  Congress  of  the  United  States  may 
declare  war,  and  the  president  in  conjunction  with  the 
senate,  may  make  treaties  of  peace.  But  war  cannot  be 
carried  on  or  peace  guaranteed  without  the  strong  arm  of 
the  soldier  and  sailor.  So  the  constitution  gives  Congress 
power  to  ♦♦  raise  and  support  armies,"  to  "  provide  and  main- 
tain  a  navy,"  and  to  make  rules  for  their  government.  Con- 
gress may  also  authorize  private  persons  to  fit  out  so-called 
"  privateers,"  or  fighting  vessels  to  prey  upon  the  commerce 
of  an  enemy  of  the  United  States.  This  is  described  in  the 
constitution  as  "  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal."  ^ 
The  word  •*  marque "  comes  from  the  French,  and  means 
literally,  the  visible  sign  or  mark  of  the  government  which 
gives  a  privateer  authority  to  make  captures.  Without  this 
"  marque,"  or  sign  of  authority,  a  private  fighting  vessel 
is  a  pirate,  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  armed  vessels  of  every 
nation. 

Power  Over  the  Militia.' — Besides  its  power  to  raise  and 
support  armies,  Congress  *'  may  provide  for  arming  and 
disciplining  the  militia."  The  militia  is  composed  generally 
of  all  able-bodied  men  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  years 
of  age  in  the  several  States.  The  militia  may  be  called  out 
by  Congress  "  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  sup- 
press insurrections,  and  repel  invasions."  When  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States  the   militia,  like  the  regular 

'  See  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8.  "  The  United 
States  has  no  control  over  any  criminal  act  committed  upon  a  foreign  ship  by 
the  subjects  of  a  foreign  nation  when  on  the  high  seas." — Schouler. 

9  See  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 

^  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Sections  8,  10. 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  259 

army  and  navy,  is  under  the  direction  of  the  president.  No 
State  may  make  peace  or  declare  war,  but  each  State  may 
organize,  drill,  and  officer  its  own  militia  "  according  to  rules 
prescribed  by  Congress,"  and  a  State  may  use  its  militia  to 
preserve  peace  within  its  borders. 

Power  to  Tax. — The  United  States  Congress  has  power 
to  "lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to 
[/.  e.y  in  order  to]  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common 
defense  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States."  United 
States  duties  on  imports  are  now  collected  under  so-called 
tariff  laws  at  United  States  customhouses  on  goods  imported 
to  this  country.  United  States  excise  taxes — that  is,  taxes 
on  articles  produced  in  this  country — are  collected  as  so- 
called  "  Internal  Revenue."  For  the  collection  of  internal 
revenue,  the  territory  of  the  United  States  is  divided  into 
internal  revenue  districts,  each  under  its  own  collector  of 
internal  revenue,  appointed  by  the  president  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate.^  Duties,  imposts,  and  excises  are 
"  indirect  taxes."  Congress  has  power  to  collect  so-called 
••  direct  taxes  "  on  persons,  and  on  the  value  of  their  prop- 
erty or  their  incomes.  But  direct  taxes  must  be  apportioned 
among  the  States  in  proportion  to  their  population.  Con- 
gress may  lay  no  taxes  on  goods  exported  from  any  State ; 
and,  finally,  "  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises "  must  be 
"  uniform  throughout  the  United  States." 

Power  to  Borrow  Money. — Should  the  money  raised  by 
taxation  be  insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  government. 
Congress  is  given  power  "  to  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of 
the  United  States."  ^  This  is  usually  done  by  selling  bonds 
of  the  United  States.     A  bond  is  a  promise  to  pay  a  certain 

1  See  Chapter  XIX.,  "The  Assessment  and  Collection  of  Taxes." 
'  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 


26o  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

definite  sum  at  a  future  date  with  a  fixed  rate  of  interest 
United  States  bonds  are  advertised  and  sold  in  the  open 
market.  They  are  readily  purchased  by  our  own  citizens, 
and  by  foreigners,  who  v/ish  a  safe  investment  and  a  sure 
•income  from  their  surplus  money. 

Power  to  Regulate  Commerce. — We  have  seen  that 
Congress  may  regulate  our  commerce  with  foreign  countries 
by  tariff  laws  and  reciprocity  treaties.  The  government  of 
the  United  States  may  go  even  further,  and  entirely  prohibit 
our  commerce  with  a  foreign  nation,  as  was  done  under  the 
so-called  Embargo  Act  preceding  the  War  of  1 8 12.  Under 
its  power  to  regulate  commerce,  and  its  further  power  to 
control  our  citizens  on  the  high  seas,  Congress  has  enacted 
a  great  body  of  navigation  laws,^  which  regulate  the  conduct 
of  American  ships  and  sailors  ;  and  under  which  lighthouses, 
buoys  and  life-saving  stations  have  been  placed  along  our 
coasts,  under  which  pilots  act,  wrecks  are  saved  and  wreckers 
compensated.  The  same  power  enables  Congress  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  the  States  to  prevent  the  introduction  of 
contagious  diseases,  by  so-called  quarantine  regulations  at 
the  ports  of  the  United  States. 

Interstate  Commerce. — Besides  its  power  to  regulate 
foreign  commerce.  Congress  regulates  commerce  "  among 
the  States  and  with  the  Indian  tribes."  ^  Commerce  among 
the  States  is  known  as  "  Interstate  Commerce,"  to  distinguish 
it  from  commerce  carried  on  entirely  within  the  borders  of 
a  single  State.  A  man  in  Chicago  who  sends  a  carload  of 
dressed  beef  to  a  mail  in  New  York,  is  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce,  for  the  beef  passes  not  only  from  Illinois  to  New 

'  Cases   arising   under   the    navigation   laws   are  tried   in   United   States 
courts,  known  as  admiralty  courts. 
•    •  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 


THE   STATES,  AND    THE  PEOPLE.  261 

'  York,  but  also  through  intervening  States.  Such  commerce 
— of  great  and  growing  importance — is  regulated  by 
Congress.  So,  also,  are  all  railroads,  telegraph  lines, 
navigable  rivers,  or  other  means  of  transportation  and  com- 
munication between  two  or  more  States.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  shipment  of  a  cargo  of  flour  from  Rochester  to 
Albany,  is  an  act  of  commerce  carried  on  wholly  within  a 
single  State,  and  as  such  is  subject  only  to  State  law. 

Under  its  power  to  regulate  interstate  commerce,  Con- 
gress established  in  1887  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, which  now  controls  the  railroad  rates,  etc.,  on  traffic 
from  one  State  to  another.  In  1890  Congress  also  enacted 
the  so-called  Anti-Trust  law,  designed  to  prevent  combina- 
tions of  capital  in  restraint  of  trade  between  the  people  of 
two  or  more  States.  In  1906  Congress  passed  acts  to  pre- 
vent the  adulteration  or  misbranding  of  food  carried  from 
one  State  to  another.  No  State  may  tax  or  in  any  way 
restrain  trade  with  foreign  countries,  or  between  the  people 
of  two  or  more  States.  But  a  State  may  tax  articles  brought 
into  it  from  another  State,  so  long  as  the  same  tax  is  shared 
equally  by  its  own  local  trade.  It  may  lay  impost  duties 
necessary  to  provide  for  the  inspection  of  food  and  other 
products,  such  duties  being  subject  to  revision  by  Congress. 

Bankruptcy. — Congress  has  power  to  make  uniform  laws 
on  the  subject  of  bankruptcy  throughout  the  United  States.  ^ 
A  bankrupt  is  a  person  who  cannot  pay  his  just  debts. 
Bankruptcy  laws  are  designed  to  release  bankrupt  debtors 
from  the  legal  obligations  to  pay  their  debts,  provided  the 
bankrupt  gives  up  the  property  he  possesses,  to  be  divided 
among  those  whom  he  owes.  A  debtor,  released  under 
bankruptcy  laws  from  the  legal  obligation  to  pay  his  debts, 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 


262  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE   NATION. 

may  begin  business  again  with  the  hope  of  retaining  his 
future  earnings. 

Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads. — Congress  is  given  power 
by  the  constitution  to  estabUsh  post  offices  and  post  roads 
throughout  the  territory  of  the  United  States.^  This  power 
includes  every  power  necessary  to  estabUsh  a  complete 
postal  system  under  United  States  control,  including  the 
power  to  protect  and  carry  the  mails,  and  to  punish  as 
crimes  acts  that  interfere  with  their  prompt  and  safe  de- 
li very  .2  -  Under  this  power  it  is  claimed  by  some  that  the 
government  of  the  United  States  may,  if  necessary,  con- 
struct independent  national  highways,  or  even  buy  up  and 
operate  the  great  railroad  and  telegraph  systems  of  the 
country  for  postal  purposes. 

Power  to  Coin  Money. — The  constitution  gives  Con- 
gress power  to  coin  money,  to  regulate  its  value,  and  the 
value  of  foreign  coins  in  use  in  the  United  States;  also 
power  to  punish  counterfeiters  of  United  States  money,  and 
power  to  fix  a  standard  of  weights  and  measures  through- 
out the  United  States.^  Under  these  powers  the  national 
government  has  established  mints  where  gold,  silver,  and 
other  metals  are  coined  into  the  money  of  the  United 
States.  Besides  this  metal  money,  the  national  govern- 
ment issues  paper  money  known  as  gold  certificates,  silver 
certificates,  and  treasury  notes  or  greenbacks.  Each  gold 
or  silver  certificate  represents  an  amount  of  gold  or  silver 
coin  or  bullion,  deposited  in  the  United  States  treasury, 
equal  to  the  face  value  of  the  certificate ;  and  a  person  hold- 
ing such  a  certificate,  may  present  it  at  any  time  at  the 

» United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 

'  Cooley,  Constitutional  Limitations. 

3  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 


THE  STATES,  AND    THE  PEOPLE.  263 

treasury,  and  receive  gold  or  silver  for  it.  A  United  States 
treasury  note  or  greenback,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  simple 
paper  promise  of  the  United  States  to  pay  the  sum  printed 
on  the  face  of  the  note.  There  are  now  in  existence 
;^346,oc)0,ooo  of  these  treasury  notes  or  greenbacks,  and 
;^  1 50,000,000  in  gold  is  kept  in  the  United  States  treasury 
to  redeem  these  notes,  should  their  holders  wish  to  get  gold. 

The  national  government  keeps  accurate  standards  of 
weights  and  measures,  and  has  furnished  copies  to  the 
States.  The  common  use  of  proper  weights  and  measures, 
however,  is  governed  by  State  laws. 

Patents  and  Copyrights. — The  government  of  the  United 
States  protects  inventors  by  patents  and  authors  by  copy- 
rights.i  A  patent  gives  an  inventor  the  exclusive  right  to 
make  and  sell  his  invention  anywhere  in  the  United  States, 
for  a  term  of  seventeen  years.  A  copyright  gives  an  au- 
thor of  a  book  the  exclusive  right  to  make  and  sell  it  for  a 
term  of  twenty-eight  years ;  and  this  may  be  extended 
twenty-eight  years  more  on  application.  We  have  also  an 
international  copyright  law,  which  gives  foreign  authors  a 
right  to  copyright  books  here,  in  return  for  similar  privi- 
leges granted  by  foreign  governments  to  American  authors. 

United  States  Control  Over  Federal  Places. — The  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  has  exclusive  control  over  the 
District  of  Columbia,  containing  the  seat  of  the  national 
government,  and  the  city  of  Washington.  Congress  makes 
laws  for  this  district,  and  the  president  of  the  United  States 
appoints  its  executive  and  judicial  officers;  and  no  person 
may  vote  while  having  a  legal  residence  ii^  the  District  of 
Columbia.  Similar  authority  is  exercised  by  Congress 
over  United  States  property  used  for  forts,  dockyards,  etc. 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 


264  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE   NATION. 

United  States  Territory.— At  the  close  of  the  Revolution- 
ary  War  the  thirteen  American  colonies  claimed  the  land 
lying  between  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi. 
Most  of  it  was  unsettled  and  the  claims  of  two  or  more  col- 
onies often  overlapped  and  conflicted.  During  the  forma- 
tion of  the  union  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  the 
States  gave  up  their  individual  claims  to  this  land,  ceding  it 
to  the  United  States,  on  the  understanding  that  it  should  be 
cut  up  into  States,  on  acquiring  sufficient  population.  There 
was  thus  created  a  territory  belonging  to  the  United  States, 
and  independent  of  the  control  of  any  particular  State. 
Since  then  the  government  of  the  United  States,  by  pur- 
chase, exploration  and  conquest,  has  extended  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  to  include  the  vast  domain  lying  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific.  Alaska,  Hawaii,  the 
Philippines,  and  other  islands,  have  also  become  United 
States  territory.  All  this  territory  is,  or  has  been  at  some 
time,  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  United  States. 

Government  of  United  States  Territory. — The  power  to 
govern  United  States  territory  is  placed  by  the  constitution 
in  the  hands  of  Congress.^  Over  portions  thinly  settled, 
and  inhabited  chiefly  by  Indians  and  others  incapable  of 
self-government,  Congress  has  established  a  form  of  govern- 
ment known  as  the  unorganized  Territory,  consisting  prin- 
cipally of  a  Territorial  Governor  and  Territorial  Judges,  ap- 
pointed by  the  president  of  the  United  States.  These  offi  - 
cers  simply  execute  the  laws  made  by  Congress  for  the 
territory.  Over  other  portions  of  United  States  territory, 
containing  a  larger  proportion  of  people  capable  of  self- 
government.  Congress  has  established  a  form  of  government 
known  as  the  organized  Territory.     This  includes  a  Terri- 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  IV.,  Section  3. 


THE  STATES,  AND    THE   PEOPLE.  265 

torial  governor,  a  Territorial  secretary  and  a  Territorial 
treasurer,  appointed  by  the  president,  and  a  Territorial  legis- 
lature elected  by  the  people  of  the  Territory.  The  Territorial 
legislature  makes  local  laws  for  the  Territory,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  Congress.  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Hawaii 
are  organized  Territories.  Alaska  is  an  unorganized  Ter- 
ritory. Porto  Rico  and  the  PhiHppines  have  governments 
much  like  that  of  an  organized  Territory.  A  Territory  is 
represented  in  Congress  by  its  own  Territorial  delegate, 
who  has  a  right  to  speak,  but  not  to  vote. 

How  Territories  Become  States. — When  an  organized 
Territory  becomes  sufficiently  populous  and  capable  of  self- 
government,  it  may  apply  to  Congress  for  admission  into 
the  Union  as  a  State.  If  Congress  favors  its  admission,  it 
passes  a  law  authorizing  the  Territory  to  form  a  State  gov- 
ernment. This  law  is  called  the  enabling  act.  The  gov- 
ernor of  the  Territory  then  calls  on  its  voters  to  elect  dele- 
gates to  a  Territorial  convention,  similar  to  a  State  con- 
stitutional convention.  The  Territorial  convention,  when 
assembled,  adopts  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  for 
the  people  of  the  Territory,  and  proceeds  to  frame  a  State 
constitution.  This  is  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  Terri- 
tory, and  if  adopted  by  them,  the  fact  is  certified  to  the 
president  of  the  United  States.  If  the  new  constitution  is 
found  to  be  in  accord  with  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  president  issues  a  proclamation  declaring  the 
Territory  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State.  This 
entitles  it  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  older  States. 

Other  Powers  of  Congress — Such  are  some  of  the 
specific  powers  given  by  the  constitution  to  be  exercised  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  Besides  these 
specified  powers  the  constitution  gives  Congress  power  to 


266  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

make  all  laws  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  these  and  all 
other  powers,  "  vested  by  the  constitution  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  or  in  any  department  or  officer 
thereof."  ^  Thus  the  people,  by  a  single  sweeping  provi- 
sion, have  authorized  the  national  government  to  exercise 
all  powers  necessary  in  accomplishing  the  work  outlined 
in  the  specific  provisions  of  the  constitution. 

Powers  of  the  Several  States. — With  such  vast  powers 
given  to  the  national  government,  the  question  naturally 
arises.  What  powers  of  importance  are  left  to  be  exercised 
by  the  governments  of  the  several  States.?  The  answer  is  : 
That  the  States  may  exercise  all  powers  (i)  not  specifically 
given  by  the  constitution  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  ;  (2)  not  specifically  forbidden  by  the  constitution  to 
be  exercised  by  the  several  States  ;  and  (3)  not  reserved  to 
the  people.  The  powers  thus  left  to  the  several  States  are 
vast  and  varied.  While  excluding  every  power  relating  to 
the  control  of  our  foreign  relations,  and  to  affairs  of  strictly 
national  concern,  they  include  the  great  body  of  civil  and 
criminal  law  regulating  persons  and  property  in  the  daily 
walks  of  Hfe.^  Powers  left  with  the  States  are  thus  sum- 
marized by  Mr.  Woodrow  Wilson  in  The  State: 

"  All  the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  our  citizens  depend  upon  State 
legislation :  the  education  of  the  people  is  in  the  care  of  the  States ; 
with  them  rests  the  regulation  of  the  suffrage;  they  prescribe  the 
rules  of  marriage  and  the  legal  relations  of  husband  and  wife,  of 
parent  and  child  ;  they  determine  the  powers  of  masters  over  servants 
and  the  whole  law  of  principal  and  agent,  which  is  so  vital  a  matter 

1  Article  I.,  Section  8,  sometimes  called  "  the  Elastic  Clause."  Parties 
which  favor  a  broad  or  loose  interpretation  of  this  clause  would  extend  fed- 
eral legislation  into  some  fields  which  "  strict  constructionists  "  would  leave 
entirely  to  the  States. 

2  See  Chapter  VIII.,  "  The  State  and  the  People  Who  Made  It." 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE,  267 

in  all  business  transactions  ;  they  regulate  partnership,  debt  and 
credit  and  insurance  ;  they  constitute  all  corporations,  both  private 
and  municipal,  except  such  as  specially  fulfill  the  financial  and  other 
specific  functions  of  the  Federal  Government ;  they  control  the  pos- 
session, distribution  and  use  of  property,  the  exercise  of  trades  and  all 
contract  relations ;  and  they  formulate  and  administer  all  criminal 
law  except  that  which  concerns  crimes  committed  against  the  United 
States,  on  the  high  seas,  or  against  the  law  of  nations.  Space  would 
fail  to  enumerate  the  particular  items  of  this  vast  range  of  power ;  to 
detail  its  parts  would  be  to  catalogue  all  social  and  business  relation- 
ships, to  set  forth  all  foundations  of  law  and  order." 


Powers  Forbidden  to  the  Government  of  the  United 

States.^ — The  national  government  is  forbidden  to  suspend 
the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  "  unless  when  in  cases  of  re- 
bellion or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it."  '* 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  Ex  post  facto  law  may  be  passed 
by  Congress.  Under  certain  old  English  laws  the  convic- 
tion of  a  person  for  a  great  crime  was  said  to  attaint  or  stain 
his  blood,  so  that  his  innocent  children  suffered  in  con- 
sequence of  their  father's  act.  Such  attainder  of  blood  was 
frequently  produced  by  bills  passed  by  Parliament,  without 
a  formal  trial  of  the  accused  person  in  a  court  of  justice. 
An  Ex  post  facto  law  reaches  back  to  make  an  act  com- 
mitted before  the  law  was  passed  a  crime,  when  previous  to 
the  enactment  of  the  law  it  was  not  a  legal  offense ;  or  it 
may  increase  the  penalty  for  a  crime  committed  before  the 
law  was  passed.     Such  laws  are  manifestly  unjust. 

No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  may  be  laid  by  Con- 
gress, except  in  proportion  to  population  among  the  several 
States,  as  determined  by  census. 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  9. 

2  See  Chapter  XI.,  «  Personal  Rights." 


268  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION 

No  tax  may  be  laid  by  the  government  of  the  United 
States  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

No  preference  may  be  given  to  the  ports  of  one  State 
over  another  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue. 

No  money  may  be  drawn  from  the  United  States  treasury 
except  in  consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law. 

No  title  of  nobility — such  as  duke,  earl,  lord, — may  be 
granted  by  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

Additional  Prohibitions  in  the  First  Ten  Amendments  to 
the  Constitution. — All  the  above-described  prohibitions  ap- 
pear in  Article  L,  Section  9  of  the  constitution.  After  the 
adoption  of  the  original  constitution  by  the  convention  of 
1787,  many  of  the  States  refused  to  ratify  it  unless  ad- 
ditional safeguards  to  personal  liberty  were  inserted.  Ten 
amendments  were  therefore  proposed  and  adopted,  which 
included  a  number  of  specific  prohibitions  against  arbitrary 
powers,  which  it  was  feared  might  be  exercised  by  the  pro- 
posed national  government.  These  prohibitions  were  many 
of  them  taken  directly  from  State  constitutions,  already  in 
successful  operation  in  the  several  States.^  Among  the  acts 
thus  forbidden  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  are 
the  following : 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  of  re- 
ligion. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  and  the  right  of  the 
people  peaceably  to  assemble  and  petition  the  government 
or  any  of  its  departments  for  a  redress  of  grievances,  cannot 
be  abridged. 

'  An  interesting  comparison  may  be  made  by  the  student  between  the  Bill 
of  Rights  in  the  New  York  Constitution,  and  these  prohibitions  in  the  first  ten 
amendments  to  the  constitution   of  the  United  States. 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  269 

The  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  may  not 
be  infringed. 

No  soldier  of  the  United  States  may  in  time  of  peace  be 
quartered  in  any  house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner, 
nor  in  time  of  war,  except  in  a  manner  prescribed  by 
law. 

The  people  are  to  be  secure  against  unreasonable  searches 
and  seizures ;  and  no  warrants  may  be  issued  except  for 
probable  cause,  and  except  as  supported  by  oath  or  affir- 
mation. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  other- 
wise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  presentment  or  indictment 
of  a  grand  jury  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  army  and 
navy ;  nor  be  subjected  to  a  second  trial  for  the  same  offense, 
nor  be  compelled  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property  without  due  process 
of  law. 

Private  property  may  not  be  taken  for  public  purposes 
without  just  compensation. 

A  person  accused  of  crime  must  have  a  speedy  and  public 
trial,  by  a  jury  of  the  district  and  State  wherein  the  alleged 
crime  was  committed.  The  accused  person  must  be  con- 
fronted with  the  witnesses  against  him,  and  the  courts  must 
compel  witnesses  in  his  favor  to  attend  his  trial.  The 
accused  must  also  be  given  the  right  to  have  counsel  to 
assist  in  his  defense. 

No  suit  at  common  law  may  be  decided  where  the  value 
of  the  thing  in  dispute  exceeds  twenty  dollars,  without  the 
right  to  a  trial  of  the  facts  by  jury ;  and  no  fact  determined 
by  a  jury  can  be  reexamined,  otherwise  than  according  to 
the  rules  of  common  law. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required  nor  excessive  fines 


270  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION, 

be  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  be  in- 
flicted. 

All  the  above  prohibitions  are  against  the  government  of 
the  United  States. 

Acts  Forbidden  to  the  Governments  of  the  Several 
States.* — The  people  through  the  constitution  have  forbidden 
the  several  States : 

To  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation  ; 

To  make  war  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  unless 
actually  invaded  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay ; 

To  coin  money  or  emit  bills  of  credit ; 

To  lay  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  without 
the  consent  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  except 
that  a  State  may  lay  such  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  executing 
its  own  inspection  laws ;  ^  or 

To  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  except 
with  the  consent  of  Congress. 

Prohibitions  Against  Slavery  and  Against  Infringing  the 
Rights  of  Former  Slaves. — In  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  amendments  to  the  constitution,  adopted 
since  the  Civil  War,  the  people  have  prohibited  slavery 
throughout  the  United  States ;  and  forbidden  any  State  to 
abridge  the  privileges  of  any  citizen  of  the  United  States ; 
or  to  deny  to  him  the  right  to  vote  on  account  of  race, 
color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  In  addition  to 
these  prohibitions  the  States  are  also  forbidden  to  deprive 
any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law,  or  to  deny  to  any  person  the  equal  protection  of  the 
laws. 

»  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  lO. 
'  See  page  261. 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  271 

States  Must  Give  Credit  to  the  Public  Acts  and  Records 
of  Other  States. — The  constitution  requires  each  State  to 
give  full  faith  and  credit  to  all  the  public  acts,  records,  and 
judicial  proceedings,  of  all  the  other  States ;  and  declares 
that  the  citizens  of  each  State  are  entitled  to  all  the  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  every  other  State.  A  person 
charged  with  crime  in  one  State,  who  flees  to  another,  must 
on  demand  of  the  governor  of  the  State  having  jurisdiction 
of  the  crime,  be  delivered  up  to  that  State  (extradition). 

States  to  be  Protected. — The  constitution  declares  that 
the  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  the  States 
against  invasion,  and  also  protect  a  State  against  domestic 
violence,  when  so  requested  by  its  authorities.^ 

Rights  Retained  by  the  People. — The  ninth  amend- 
ment to  the  constitution  declares  that  the  enumeration  of 
certain  rights  in  the  constitution  shall  not  be  construed  to 
deny  or  disparage  other  rights  retained  by  the  people. 

The  Eleventh  Amendment  to  the  constitution  supports 
the  doctrine  of  State  Rights  to  the  extent  of  forbidding  the 
use  of  the  federal  courts  for  the  prosecution  of  a  person's 
suits  or  claims  against  any  State. 

Amending  the  Constitution. — Amendments  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  may  be  proposed  by  a  two- 
thirds  affirmative  vote  of  both  houses  of  Congress ;  or  Con- 
gress may  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments, 
when  so  requested  by  two.thirds  of  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  States.  Amendments  so  proposed,  must,  in  order  to 
become  law,  be  ratified  by  three  fourths  of  the  legislatures 
of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  called  in  three  fourths 
of  the  States. 
»  United  States  Constitution,  Article  IV.,  Section  4. 


272  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE  NATION, 

SUMMARY. 

The  United  States  is  a  sovereign,  indivisible,  federal, 
national  state,  and  not  a  league  of  States  or  commonwealths 
with  a  central  national  government. 

An  outline  of  our  national  government  is  laid  down  by 
the  people  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  which 
constitution,  and  the  laws  made  in  pursuance  of  it,  consti- 
tute the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

The  people  have  divided  the  powers  of  government  into 
powers  to  be  exercised  by  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  powers  to  be  exercised  by  the  governments  of  the 
several  States,  and  powers  reserved  to  the  people. 

The  people  have  prohibited  the  government  of  the  United 
States  from  exercising  certain  powers,  also  the  governments 
of  the  several  States  from  exercising  certain  powers. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  is  one  of  powers 
specifically  given  to  it  by  the  constitution,  all  other  powers 
being  left  to  the  States  or  to  the  people. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  exercises  generally 
such  powers  as  are  necessary  to  regulate  our  relations  with 
foreign  nations,  and  to  regulate  such  matters  as  concern  the 
people  of  more  than  a  single  State.  The  governments  of 
the  several  States  exercise  all  other  powers  not  prohibited 
to  them  by  the  constitution,  or  not  reserved  to  the 
people. 

Specific  prohibitions  imposed  upon  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  are  found  in  Article  I.,  Section  9,  of  the 
constitution,  and  in  the  first  ten  amendments,  the  latter 
being  known  as  the  national  "  Bill  of  Rights."  Prohibitions 
imposed  upon  the  several  States  are  found  in  Article  I., 
Section  10,  of  the  constitution,  and  in  the  thirteenth,  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  amendments.     These  amendments  pro 


THE  STATES,  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  27$ 

hibit  slavery,  and  guarantee  the  civil  and  political  rights  of 
former  slaves. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

How  were  United  States  taxes  laid  and  collected  under 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  ?  How  are  they  now  laid  and 
collected  ? 

What  feature  of  State  representation  in  Congress  under 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  is  preserved  by  the  present 
constitution  ?    What  new  feature  of  representation  is  added  ? 

What  was  the  so-called  "  right  of  secession  ?  " 

What  is  meant  by  the  statement  that  the  government  of 
the  United  States  is  one  of  specifically  granted  powers  ? 
What  are  so-called  concurrent  powers  ? 

Name  a  power,  the  exercise  of  which  is  prohibited,  both 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  the  State  of 
New  York. 

State  generally  what  powers  may  be  exercised  by  the 
United  States  government,  and  what  by  the  governments 
of  the  several  States. 

Define  reciprocity  treaty,  high  seas,  privateer,*  letters  of 
marque  and  reprisal,  bankruptcy,  patent,  copyright. 

What  is  a  United  States  bond  ?  For  what  purposes 
are  such  bonds  issued  ?  Give  an  account  of  the  different 
kinds  of  money  issued  by  the  United  States  government. 
Describe  the  difference  between  a  national  bank  and  a 
State  bank. 

Describe  generally  the  power  of  Congress  to  regulate 
commerce.  What  is  the  interstate  commerce  commission  ? 
May  a  State  tax  imported  goods  ?  If  so,  for  what  purposes? 
May  the  United  States  impose  a  tax  on  goods  exported 
from  the  States  ? 


274  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

What  is  meant  by  United  States  territory?  State  the 
difference  between  the  government  of  an  organized  Territory 
and  an  unorganized  Territory.  Give  in  detail  the  steps  nec- 
essary for  admitting  a  Territory  into  the  Federal  Union. 

Define  bill  of  attainder ;  Ex  post  facto  law. 

Name  five  specific  prohibitions  imposed  by  the  constitu- 
tion upon  the  government  of  the  United  States,  in  favor  of 
Hberty  of  the  individual  citizen.  Name  five  prohibitions 
imposed  on  the  governments  of  the  several  States. 

Which  amendment  to  the  constitution  prohibits  slavery  ? 
Which  guarantees  civil  and  political  rights  to  former  slaves  ? 
How  is  this  guaranty  enforced  ? 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

Bryce's  American  Commonwealth,  Part  I.,  Chapter  IV.,  "Nature 
of  the  Federal  Government"  ;  Chapter  XXVII.,  "  The  Federal  Sys- 
tem"; Chapter  XXVIII.,  "Working  of  the  Federal  System." 
Schouler's  Constitutional  Studies,  Part  II.,  Chapter  V.,  "The  Fed- 
eral Constitution  Analyzed ;  Structure  and  Distribution  of  Powers ; 
Legislature";  Chapter  VI.,  "  Fundamental  Powers  of  Congress"; 
Chapter  VII.,  "  Federal  and  State  Prohibitions"  ;  Chapter  X.,  "In- 
terstate and  Territorial  Relations."  Burgess's  Political  Science  and 
Comparative  Constitutional  Law,  Volume  I.,  Part  II.,  Book  I.,  Chap- 
ter II.,  "The  Organization  of  the  State  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States"  ;  Book  IT.,  Chapter  II.,  "The  System  of  Individual 
Liberty  Provided  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States."  John- 
ston's History  of  American  Politics,  Chapter  I.,  "  Origin  of  Political 
Parties  in  the  United  States."  Stevens,  Sources  of  the  Constitution^ 
Chapter  II. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Departments  of  United  States  Government. 

The  government  of  the  United  States,  like  State  and 
local  governments,  is  carried  on  in  three  departments — leg- 
islative, executive  and  judicial.  The  work  of  each  depart- 
ment is  outlined  in  the  constitution.  The  powers  of  the 
three  departments  of  the  government  are  kept  far  more 
independent  and  separate  than  in  most  other  countries.  In 
Great  Britain,  for  instance,  the  executive  powers  are  ex- 
ercised by  ministers  who  are  also  members  of  Parliament, 
and  who  lead  In  the  work  of  legislation.  The  "parlia- 
mentary system "  aims  to  place  in  the  same  hands  the 
power  and  responsibility  for  making  and  for  executing  a 
law.  Our  constitution,  on  the  contrary,  aims  to  separate 
the  legislative  and  executive  powers. 

The  chief  branch  of  the  legislative  department  is  Con- 
gress. The  president  of  the  United  States  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  executive  department.  The  judicial  depart- 
ment is  composed  of  United  States  courts  and  judges. 

Congress. — The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  like  the 
State  legislature,  is  composed  of  two  legislative  branches  or 
**  houses."  These  are  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. The  senate  is  the  so-called  "  upper  house  "  of 
Congress.  It  corresponds  to  the  senate  of  the  State  legis- 
lature, and  to  the  House  of  Lords  of  the  English  Parlia- 
ment. The  house  of  representatives,  or  so-called  "  lower 
house,"  of  Congress  is  a  larger  body  than  the  senate,  and  its 
members  are  elected  for  a  shorter  term.  It  corresponds  to 
the  assembly  in  the  legislature,  and  to  the  House  of  Com- 

275 


276  GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  NATION. 

mons  in  Parliament.  Congress,  thus  composed,  is  the  chief 
law-making  power  of  the  national  government.  It  meets 
annually  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,^  at  the  National 
Capitol  in  Washington,  D.C.  A  new  Congress  meets  every 
two  years,  and  the  life  of  a  particular  Congress  ends  at 
noon,  March  4,  in  an  odd-numbered  year. 

The  Senate. — The  senate  of  the  United  States  is  com- 
posed of  two  members  from  each  State  in  the  Union.  This 
makes  a  senate  of  ninety-two  members.  The  senators  from 
each  State  are  chosen  by  its  State  legislature,  thus  preserv- 
ing a  feature  of  the  original  union  under  the  Articles  of 
Confederation.  A  further  feature  of  that  union  is  also  pre- 
served in  the  equal  representation  of  every  State,  large  or 
small,  in  the  Senate.  The  Senate  thus  represents  the 
federal  idea  of  government.  Members  of  the  senate  are 
elected  for  terms  of  six  years  each,  one  third  of  the  sena- 
tors being  elected  every  two  years.  This  tends  to  keep 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  senate  at  all  times  in  com- 
paratively close  touch  with  the  people,  but  provides  that 
at  least  two  thirds  shall  be  made  up  of  experienced  men. 
The  vice  president  of  the  United  States  is  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  senate.  He  does  not  vote  in  the  senate 
except  in  case  of  a  tie,  when  he  may  cast  the  deciding 
vote. 

Election  of  Senators. — The  two  houses  of  a  State  legis- 
lature about  to  elect  a  United  States  senator,  meet,  each 
house  in  its  own  chamber,  on  the  second  Tuesday  following 
the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  legislature,  and  the  mem- 
bers proceed  to  cast  their  ballots  for  senator.  At  noon 
on  the  following  day  the  two  houses  meet  in  joint  session 
in  a  single  chamber,  and  the  votes  of  the  previous  day  are 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  4. 


DEPARTMENTS   OF  UNITED   STATES   GOVERNMENT.      277 

read.  If  one  person  has  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  of 
each  house  he  is  declared  to  be  duly  elected  senator.  But 
if  no  person  has  received  such  majorities,  the  two  houses 
continue  to  meet  in  joint  session  at  noon  on  each  succeed- 
ing legislative  day,  and  to  take  at  least  one  vote  a  day,  until 
one  man  receives  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  of  the  joint 
assembly — a  majority  of  all  the  members  of  the  legislature 
being  present  and  voting.  When  a  vacancy  occurs  in  the 
United  States  senate  during  a  recess  of  the  legislature  en- 
titled to  fill  the  vacant  place,  the  governor  of  the  State  may 
appoint  a  man  to  act  as  senator  till  the  office  can  be  filled 
in  the  regular  manner.  A  United  States  senator  must  be  at 
least  thirty  years  old,  an  inhabitant  of  the  State  from  which 
he  is  elected,  and  must  have  been  at  least  nine  years  a  cit- 
izen of  the  United  States. 

There  are  often  more  than  two  candidates  for  a  senator- 
ship,  so  that  many  days,  or  even  months  and  years,  may 
elapse  before  any  one  secures  a  majority  vote.  As  the 
change  of  a  few  votes  may  decide  such  an  election,  this 
condition  affords  great  temptation  and  opportunity  for 
bribery.  For  these  and  other  reasons  a  demand  has  arisen 
that  senators  should  be  elected  by  popular  vote,  instead  of 
by  vote  of  the  legislature.  The  house  of  representatives 
has  several  times  proposed  a  constitutional  amendment  to 
this  effect,  but  the  senate  has  rejected  it.  In  some  States, 
however,  the  same  result  is  practically  secured  by  means 
of  a  State  law  providing  for  a  popular  vote  for  senatorial 
candidates.  In  such  States  the  legislature,  bowing  to  the 
expressed  will  of  the  people,  usually  ratifies  the  popular 
choice ;  but  the  majority  of  the  legislature  has  the  power 
to  elect  whomsoever  it  chooses. 

The  House  of  Representatives. — Members  of  the  house 


278  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION 

of  representatives  are  elected  by  direct  vote  of  the  people 
in  the  several  States.  Each  State  elects  representatives  in 
proportion  to  its  population,  the  more  populous  States  send- 
ing the  larger  number ;  but  each  State  is  entitled  to  at  least 
one  representative.  This  house,  therefore,  represents  the 
national  idea  of  union.  The  ratio  of  population  to  one 
representative,  and  the  number  of  representatives  to  which 
each  State  is  entitled,  are  fixed  by  Congress,  according  to  the 
results  of  a  United  States  census  taken  every  ten  years. 
The  ratio  of  one  representative  for  194,182  people  was  used 
by  Congress  in  fixing  the  number  of  representatives  now 
apportioned  to  each  State.  These  numbers  were  fixed  for 
the  period  1903-1913  by  act  of  January,  1901.  The  total 
number  of  representatives  in  1910  was  391;  when  new  States 
are  admitted  their  representatives  are  to  be  added  to  this 
number.  The  original  ratio,  fixed  by  the  constitution,^  was 
not  more  than  one  representative  for  every  30,000  people. 
Such  a  ratio  would  give  us  to-day  a  house  of  representa- 
tives of  about  2,500  members,  by  far  too  large  a  body  to 
transact  business  conveniently  and  speedily.  The  house 
of  representatives  elects  one  of  its  own  members  to  preside 
over  its  deliberations.  He  is  called  the  speaker,  probably 
from  an  old  English  custom  of  having  the  presiding  officer 
of  the  House  of  Commons  act  as  the  ''spokesman,"  or 
speaker,  for  that  body  when  it  presented  petitions  to  the 
king.  The  speaker  is  one  of  the  most  important  and 
powerful  officers  of  the  national  government,  as  will  be  seen 
from  a  further  description  of  his  duties. 

Election  of  Representatives. — The  legislature  of  each 
State  usually  divides  the  territory  of  the  State  into  as  many 
congressional  districts  as   it   has  representatives   in  Con- 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  2. 


279 


28o  GOVERNMENT   OF   THE  NATION. 

gress.^  Each  district  contains  a  population  approximating 
the  number  of  inhabitants  fixed  by  Congress  for  one  repre- 
sentative. A  representative  is  elected  every  two  years  by 
the  voters  of  each  district,  any  voter  qualified  to  vote  for  a 
State  assemblyman  being  qualified  to  vote  for  a  representa- 
tive in  Congress.^  Representatives  are  elected  at  the 
general  State  election,  which  takes  place  on  the  Tuesday 
following  the  first  Monday  in  November  of  an  even-num- 
bered year.  An  entirely  new  house  of  representatives  is 
thus  chosen  every  two  years.  The  new  house  meets  in 
December  of  the  year  following  its  election,  unless  Con- 
gress is  sooner  called  together  by  the  president.  A  repre- 
sentative must  be  at  least  twenty-five  years  old,  an  inhabitant 
of  the  State  from  which  he  is  elected,  and  he  must  have 
been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  New 
York  is  divided  into  thirty-seven  congressional  districts,  and 
the  voters  of  the  State  elect  thirty-seven  representatives — 
besides  the  two  senators  chosen  by  the  legislature---to  rep- 
resent the  State  in  Congress. 

Meetings  of  Congress. — Each  Congress  has  two  regular 
meetings  or  sessions.  These  are  known  as  the  First  or 
Long  Session,  and  the  Second  or  Short  Session.  The  long 
session  begins  in  December  of  the  year  following  the  elec- 
tion of  representatives,  and  usually  continues  until  the  fol- 
lowing summer.  The  short  session  begins  the  next  Decem- 
ber, and  lasts  till  the  fourth  day  of  the  following  March. 
Members  of  Congress— both  senators  and  representatives — 
receive  an  annual  salary  of  ^7,500  each,  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States. 

1  Some  States  elect  one  or  more  of  their  representatives,  called  "repre- 
sentatives at  large,"  on  a  general  ticket  voted  for  by  all  the  voters  of  the  State. 

2  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  2. 


DEPARTMENTS   OE   UNITED   STATES   GOVERNMENT.      281 

How  United  States  Laws  are  Made. — United  States 
laws  are  enacted  by  Congress  in  much  the  same  way  as 
laws  are  passed  by  our  State  legislature.  As  in  the  legisla- 
ture, so  in  Congress,  a  proposed  law  is  called  a  "  bill."  Any 
United  States  senator  may  propose  any  law  in  the  senate, 
and  any  representative  may  introduce  any  bill  in  the  house 
of  representatives,  except  that  all  bills  for  raising  revenue 
must  originate  in  the  house  of  representatives.^  This 
provision  of  the  constitution  is  inherited  from  the  EngHsh 
practice,  of  having  all  propositions  for  taxing  the  people 
come  from  the  House  of  Commons,  the  legislative  body  in 
Parliament  nearest  to  the  people.  A  similar  rule  prevailed 
in  the  legislatures  of  the  American  colonies  before  the  Rev- 
olution and  still  prevails  in  some  State  legislatures ;  but 
not  in  New  York.  The  restriction  amounts  to  Httle,  for 
after  a  revenue  bill  has  been  passed  by  the  house,  the  senate 
has  full  power  to  propose  amendments  to  it. 

Committees  of  Congress. — At  the  beginning  of  each 
Congress  the  members  of  both  senate  and  house  of  repre- 
sentatives are  divided  into  standing  committees,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  proposed  laws.  Each  standing  com- 
mittee, of  both  house  and  senate,  has  its  particular  subject 
assigned  to  it,  these  subjects  including  the  entire  range  of 
ordinary  legislation.  Special  committees  are  appointed  to 
consider  questions  not  assigned  to  the  regular  standing 
committees.  Every  Congress  has  in  both  houses  standing 
committees  on  such  subjects  as :  elections,  appropriations, 
commerce,  rivers  and  harbors,  agriculture,  territories,  edu- 
cation, military  affairs,  naval  affairs,  etc.  The  house  of 
representatives  has  a  committee  on  ways  and  means,  to  con- 
sider proposed  revenue  laws.     The  senate  has  a  committee 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  7. 


282  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION, 

on  foreign  affairs,  to  which  are  referred  proposed  treaties. 
The  senate  elects  by  ballot  the  members  and  chairmen  of 
its  standing  committees.  In  the  house  the  selection  of 
both  members  and  chairmen  is  left  to  the  speaker.^ 

The  W^ork  of  Congressional  Committees. — Each  bill 
proposed  in  senate  or  house  of  representatives  goes  first 
to  its  appropriate  standing  committee.  It  is  there  ex- 
amined as  to  its  merits  and  defects,  and  the  arguments  of 
its  friends  and  opponents  heard.  The  bill  may  then  be  re- 
ported by  the  committee,  either  *'  favorably  "  or  "  unfavor- 
ably," to  the  house  in  which  it  was  proposed.  A  "favor- 
able "  report  naturally  helps  a  bill  in  its  progress  towards 
becoming  a  law,  while  an  "  unfavorable  "  report  on  a  bill 
tends  to  defeat  it.  Many  bills  are  "  killed  in  committee  "  by 
never  being  reported  at  all ;  though  the  house  may  by  vote 
compel  a  committee  to  report  on  any  bill. 

Power  of  the  Speaker. — The  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives  may  organize  its  committees  in  a  way  to  de- 
feat proposed  laws,  not  favored  by  his  friends  or  his  party. 
In  the  same  way,  by  appointing  committeemen  friendly  to 
certain  measures,  the  speaker  may  hasten  their  passage 
through  Congress.  A  member  of  the  house  wishing  to 
speak  upon  a  measure  before  that  body  must  first  secure 
formal  recognition  from  the  speaker.  In  his  influence  and 
actual  power  in  the  government,  the  speaker  is  second  only 
to  the  president.  As  the  presiding  officer,  he  often  en- 
forces the  regular  rules  of  the  house,  and  special  rules 
adopted  at  the  suggestion  of  the  committee  on  rules,  in 

1  In  1 910,  in  order  to  reduce  the  speaker's  personal  control  over  legislation, 
to  some  degree,  the  house  decided  to  elect  its  committee  on  rules,  which,  like 
other  committees,  had  formerly  been  appointed  by  the  speaker,  and  of  which 
the  speaker  himself  had  acted  as  chairman. 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT.    283 

such  a  way  as  to  hasten  legislation  which  his  party  favors. 
Opposing  members  sometimes  "filibuster"  by  using  all 
possible  ways  to  consume  the  time  of  the  house,  so  as  to 
delay  business.  Rules  are  therefore  often  made,  fixing  the 
date  for  the  vote  on  certain  bills,  and  Umiting  the  time  that 
each  member  may  use  in  speaking.  This  has  given  rise  to 
the  custom  of  allowing  members  "leave  to  print"  undQ- 
livered  speeches  in  the  Congressional  Record,  which  is  a 
daily  record  of  what  is  said  in  the  sessions  of  each  house. 

In  the  smaller  and  more  dignified  senate,  the  presiding 
officer — the  vice  president — has  little  real  power.  The 
senator  who  acts  as  leader  of  the  majority  party  in  the 
senate  has  far  more  influence  on  legislation  than  the  vice 
president,  though  less  than  the  speaker. 

Passing  Bills  in  Congress. — A  bill  reported  by  a  com- 
mittee to  the  house  in  which  it  was  proposed,  may  be  de- 
bated by  the  members  of  the  house,  amended  if  desired, 
passed  by  majority  vote  of  the  house,  and  sent  to  the  other 
house;  or  the  bill  may  be  voted  down  by  the  house  in 
which  it  was  first  proposed.  If  passed,  the  bill  goes  to  the 
other  house,  where  it  is  referred  to  its  appropriate  com- 
mittee, to  go  through  a  process  similar  to  the  one  in  the 
house  where  it  originated.  Many  bills  are  referred  to  con- 
ference committees  (p.  157),  as  in  the  legislature.  Debate  in 
the  house  may  be  stopped  by  moving  the  "previous  ques- 
tion"; but  the  senate  has  no  such  rule  for  limiting  debate. 

Action  by  the  President  on  Bills. — Bills  passed  by  both 
senate  and  house  of  representatives,  go  to  the  president  of 
the  United  States  for  his  approval  and  signature.  The 
president  has  ten  days,  Sundays  excepted,  after  receiving  a 
bill,  in  which  to  consider  it.  He  may  sign  the  bill  and 
return  it  to  the  house  where  it   originated,  when  the  bill 


284  GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  NATION. 

becomes  a  law ;  or  he  may  veto  the  bill.  If  the  president 
neither  signs  nor  vetoes  the  bill,  and  if  Congress  be  in  ses- 
sion at  the  end  of  the  ten  days  allowed  him  in  which  to 
consider  the  bill,  it  becomes  a  law  without  his  signature. 
But  if  Congress  adjourn  before  the  expiration  of  the  ten 
days,  and  the  bill  still  remain  unsigned  in  the  hands  of  the 
president,  it  fails  to  become  a  law.^  Such  nonaction  on  a 
bill  by  the  president  is  called  a  "  pocket  veto." 

The  president,  unlike  the  governor  of  New  York,  cannot 
veto  one  or  more  items  in  an  appropriation  bill,  while  ap- 
proving the  rest.  Hence  an  objectionable  measure  is  some- 
times added  as  a  "rider"  to  a  bill  which  the  president  is 
known  to  favor.  He  must  then  either  veto  the  whole  bill 
or  accept  the  objectionable  provision  with  the  rest. 

Bills  may  be  Passed  over  the  President's  Veto. — A 
bill  vetoed  by  the  president  may  be  reconsidered  by  the 
house  in  which  it  originated,  and  passed  again  by  a  two- 
thirds  affirmative  vote.  It  is  then  sent  to  the  other  house, 
and  if  approved  by  a  two-thirds  affirmative  vote,  the  bill 
becomes  a  law  in  spite  of  the  veto. 

Powers  of  Congress. — The  powers  of  Congress  to  legis- 
late for  the  United  States  are  outlined  in  the  preceding 
chapter  and  in  Article  I.,  Section  8,  of  the  constitution. 

Special  Powers  of  Each  House. — The  house  of  rep- 
resentatives has  the  sole  power  of  impeachment,  but  the 
senate  hears  and  tries  the  charges.  All  revenue  bills  must 
originate  in  the  house.  The  senate  approves  or  rejects 
the  proposals  of  the  president  in  making  treaties,  and  in 
appointing  ambassadors,  judges  of  the  United  States  courts 
and  some  other  officers.  Such  business  is  discussed  in 
"executive  session,"  the  public  being  excluded.     By  the 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  7. 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT.    285 

**  courtesy  of  the  senate,"  the  presidential  appointment  of 
an  officer  in  any  State  will  be  approved  or  rejected  accord- 
ing to  the  wish  of  the  senator  or  senators  from  that  State, 
belonging  to  the  majority  party.  Hence  it  has  come  about 
that  many  federal  officers  are  really  selected  by  senators. 

Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Congressmen. — A  sena- 
tor or  representative  may  not  be  arrested  while  attending, 
going  to,  or  returning  from  Congress,  except  he  be  charged 
with  felony,  treason,  or  breach  of  the  peace.  And  no  Con- 
gressman may  be  held  legally  accountable  in  any  place  for 
any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house.^  These  provisions, 
like  those  in  our  State  constitution,^  protecting  members  of 
the  legislature,  come  down  to  us  from  old  English  law. 
No  person,  while  a  member  of  Congress,  may  hold  any 
other  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States.^ 

The  Executive  Department. — ^The  executive  department 
of  the  national  government  is  the  one  through  which  are 
enforced  and  administered  United  States  laws  and  treaties ; 
which  preserves  peace  and  order  throughout  the  territory 
controlled  by  the  United  States ;  which  controls  the  rela- 
tions and  conduct  of  United  States  citizens  when  on  the 
high  seas,  and  defends  their  rights  when  threatened  by  the 
subjects  of  foreign  nations.  At  its  head  is  the  president  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  department  includes  the  United 
States  army  and  navy,  and  a  vast  number  of  officials  in  the 
civil  service  of  the  United  States. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  His  Powers  and 
Duties. — The  president  of  the  United  States,  as  the  execu- 
tive  head  of  the  nation,  is  the  commander  in  chief  of  the 

'United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  6. 

«See  Chapter  XIV.,  "  The  Legislature." 

3  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  6. 


286  GOVERNMENT  OF   THE  NATION. 

United  States  army  and  navy,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  sev- 
eral States  when  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  his  duty  faithfully  to  enforce  the  constitution,  laws  and 
treaties  of  the  United  States,  and  to  protect  our  citizens, 
when  within  the  territory  controlled  by  the  United  States,^ 
when  on  the  high  seas,  or  when  within  the  territory  of  a 
foreign  nation.  The  president,  through  his  subordinates, 
conducts  all  official  intercourse  of  the  United  States  with 
foreign  governments.  He  appoints,  by  and  with  the  ad- 
vice and  consent  of  the  senate,  the  important  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy,  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States  and  other  important  executive  and  judicial 
officers ;  while  many  subordinate  officers  are  appointed  by 
him  alone.  The  president  has  power  to  remove  many  of  the 
officers  appointed  by  him,  whether  appointed  with  or  with- 
out the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate.  He  may  pardon, 
reprieve,  or  commute  the  sentence  of  persons  convicted  of 
offenses  against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  im- 
peachment. He  is  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  several 
States  for  a  term  of  four  years,  which  begins  on  March  fourth 
of  an  odd-numbered  year.  He  must  be  a  natural-born  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  at  least  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
and  he  must  have  been  for  fourteen  years  a  resident  of  the 
United  States.     He  receives  an  annual  salary  of  ^75,000. 

The  President's  War  Powers. — ^While  the  president  is 
commander  in  chief  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  may  direct 
their  action  in  such  a  way  as  to  provoke  actual  war.  Con- 
gress  alone  has  power  formally  to  declare  war  against  an 
enemy  of  the  United  States.  Congress  also  controls  our 
military  and  naval  operations,  by  its  power  to  grant  and  re- 
fuse supplies  of  money  and  men  necessary  to  carry  on  war. 

>  A  State  protects  its  own  citizens  when  within  the  territory  of  the  State. 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT,   287 

The  president's  power  is  further  iimited  by  the  clause  of  the 
constitution,  which  forbids  Congress  to  grant  money  for 
miHtary  operations  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years.^ 

The  President  and  Our  Foreign  Relations. — Our  inter- 
course  with  the  governments  of  foreign  nations  is  carried 
on  by  the  president,  acting  through  his  subordinates.  The 
president,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate, 
appoints  ambassadors,  ministers,  and  consuls,  to  represent 
the  government  of  the  United  States  before  foreign  govern- 
ments, and  he  receives  similar  officials  sent  to  the  United 
States.  The  president  through  his  subordinates,  makes  all 
treaties  of  the  United  States  with  foreign  governments,  but 
a  treaty  must  be  agreed  to  by  two  thirds  of  a  quorum  of  the 
senate.  Treaties  that  require  money  to  carry  them  into  effect, 
depend  upon  Congress  for  the  necessary  appropriations. 

The  President's  Legislative  Powers. — We  have  seen 
that  the  president  may  veto  bills  passed  by  Congress,  thus 
compelling  that  body  to  reconsider  any  hasty  or  injudicious 
action.  The  president  is  also  required  to  give  Congress  in- 
formation from  time  to  time  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  rec- 
ommending the  passing  of  any  laws  he  may  think  necessary 
or  wise.'^  Information  is  thus  given,  and  recommendations 
made,  by  the  president,  in  "  messages "  sent  to  Congress, 
usually  at  the  beginning  of  each  session.  The  president 
also  has  power  to  call  the  senate  or  both  houses  of  Congress 
together  in  a  so-called  "extra  session,"  when  public  busi- 
ness demands  it.  When  the  two  houses  disagree  as  to  the 
time  of  adjourning  Congress,  the  president  may  adjourn  it 
to  such  time  as  he  thinks  proper.^ 

'  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 
9  United  States  Constitution,  Article  II.,  Section  3. 
« United  States  Constitution,  Article  II.,  Section  3. 


288  GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  NATION. 

The  President  and  the  Civil  Service. — The  president's 
power  to  appoint  and  remove  officers  in  the  civil  service  of 
the  United  States,  is  limited  by  civil  service  rules,  v^hich  he 
sanctions  and  enforces.  Under  these  rules  more  than  half 
of  the  great  army  of  Federal  officeholders  have  been  placed 
in  the  so-called  "  classified  service  " ;  and  appointments  in 
this  service  are  made  as  the  result  of  competitive  examina- 
tions.  The  more  important  offices,  such  as  heads  of  de- 
partment  in  the  cabinet,  collectors  of  customs,  collectors  of 
internal  revenue,  postmasters  in  large  cities,  etc.,  are  in  the 
so-called  "  unclassified  service."  These  offices  are  often 
filled,  and  their  former  occupants  removed,  by  each  suc- 
ceeding president  for  purely  political  reasons. 

The  President's  Cabinet. — The  work  of  the  executive 
department  is  largely  carried  on  through  nine  subordinate 
departments.  The  heads  of  these  departments  are  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Secretary  of 
War,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
Postmaster-General,  Attorney-General,  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture, Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  They  are 
appointed  by  the  president,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  senate,  and  are  known  as  the  cabinet.^  They 
hold  regular  meetings,  attended  by  the  president.  Each 
cabinet  officer  has  from  one  to  four  assistants  or  assistant 
secretaries,  and  each  cabinet  department  is  divided  into 
bureaus,  at  the  head  of  each  of  which  is  a  commissioner. 

The  Department  of  State. — The  department  of  state, 
headed  by  the  secretary  of  state,  conducts  all  official  nego- 
tiations and  correspondence  of  the  United  States  with 
foreign  governments.     The  secretary  of  state  is  also  the 

1  Washington's  original  cabinet  consisted  only  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  War,  and  Attorney-General. 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT.    289 

medium  of  communication  between  the  president  of  the 
United  States  and  the  governors  of  the  several  States.  He 
has  the  custody  of  the  great  seal  of  the  United  States,  of 
treaties  made  with  foreign  governments,  and  of  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  as  passed  by  Congress. 

The  Treasury  Department. — The  treasury  department, 
under  control  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  has  the  man- 
agement of  the  national  finances,  and  includes  a  number  of 
important  officers,  among  whom  are  comptrollers,  auditors, 
treasurer  of  the  United  States,  register  of  the  treasury,  com- 
missioner of  internal  revenue,  director  of  the  mint,  etc.  The 
secretary  of  the  treasury  estimates  the  revenues  and  ex- 
penses of  the  national  government  and  superintends  the  col- 
lection of  the  revenues.  The  treasurer  receives  and  keeps 
the  moneys  of  the  government,  and  pays  out  money  on  the 
orders  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury. 

The  War  Department — The  war  department,  headed  by 
the  secretary  of  war,  has  charge  of  the  equipment  and 
supply  of  the  United  States  army.  Public  improvements, 
like  the  construction  of  United  States  docks  and  bridges,  are 
conducted  by  this  department.  So  are  explorations  under- 
taken by  the  United  States.  The  department  has  charge  of 
the  United  States  signal  service  along  our  coasts,  of  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  and  of  sev- 
eral national  parks  and  soldiers'  "  homes." 

The  Navy  Department. — The  navy  department  is  headed 
by  the  secretary  of  the  navy.  It  has  charge  of  the  navy  of 
the  United  States  and  its  equipment  and  supply ;  also  of  the 
United  States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis. 

The  Interior  Department. — The  interior  department,  in 
charge  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  performs  a  variety  of 
work,  as  indicated  by  the  titles  of  the  commissioners  head- 


290  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION, 

ing  its  various  bureaus.  In  this  department,  the  commis- 
sioner of  the  general  land  office  has  charge  of  the  pubhc 
lands  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  the  commissioner 
of  pensions  of  the  granting  of  pensions  to  soldiers  and 
sailors  disabled  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  The 
department  grants  patents  ;  looks  after  Indians  living  on 
the  so-called  "  reservations,"  and  conducts  Indian  schools ; 
and  collects  statistics  of  education. 

The  Post  Office  Department. — The  post  office  depart- 
ment  has  charge  of  the  transportation  of  the  mails,  and  of  all 
United  States  post  offices.  The  postmaster-general  is  at  its 
head.  He  establishes  post  offices,  and  appoints  all  post- 
masters not  appointed  by  the  president. 

The  Department  of  Justice. — The  department  of  justice 
is  headed  by  the  attorney-general,  with  duties  somewhat 
similar  to  the  duties  of  our  State  officer  of  that  name.  The 
attorney-general  gives  legal  advice  to  the  president  and  the 
heads  of  the  executive  departments  ;  conducts  cases  before 
the  United  States  courts  in  which  the  national  government 
is  interested ;  and  has  general  supervision  of  the  prosecut- 
ing officers  known  as  United  States  district  attorneys,  and 
of  the  executive  officers  known  as  United  States  marshals. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture.— This  department, 
headed  by  the  secretary  of  agriculture,  is  divided  into  a 
number  of  bureaus  which  have  for  their  object  the  better- 
ment of  agriculture.      It  publishes  various  reports. 

The  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor. — This  de- 
partment is  headed  by  the  Secretary  of  Commerce  and 
Labor.  It  aids  in  developing  our  commercial  interests; 
takes  the  United  States  census ;  and  includes  the  bureau 
of  immigration,  the  bureau  of  corporations,  the  bureau  of 
statistics,  and  the  United  States  fish  commission, 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES   GOVERNMENT,    291 

Other  officers  of  the  executive  department,  appointed  by 
the  president  and  senate,  include  the  interstate  commerce 
commission,  already  referred  to,  the  civil  service  com- 
mission, the  head  of  the  government  printing  office  and 
occasional  commissions  created  for  special  purposes  such 
as  the  tariff  commission  appointed  in  1909  to  gather  in- 
formation bearing  on  the  tariff  question. 

The  Vice  President. — The  vice  president  of  the  United 
States  takes  the  place  of  the  president,  in  case  of  his  death, 
resignation,  removal  from  office,  or  inability  to  perform  the 
duties  of  his  office.  The  vice  president  is  elected  at  the 
same  time  and  in  the  same  way  as  the  president.  His 
chief  duty  is  to  preside  over  the  United  States  senate.  He 
must  possess  the  same  qualifications  as  the  president,  as  to 
age,  citizenship  and  residence.     His  salary  is  $12,000. 

Election  of  President  and  Vice  President. — The  presi- 
dent and  vice  president  are  elected  by  the  people  of  the 
several  States,  voting  for  officers  called  Presidential  Electors. 
Each  State  chooses  as  many  presidential  electors  as  it  has 
senators  and  representatives  in  Congress.  The  presidential 
electors  of  each  State  meet  on  the  second  Monday  in 
January  following  their  election,  and  cast  their  ballots  for 
a  president  and  for  a  vice  president  of  the  United  States. 
The  candidates  who  receive  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  all 
the  electors  are  elected. ^  If  no  candidate  receives  a  majority, 

1  Before  the  adoption  (in  1804)  of  the  twelfth  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion, the  presidential  electors  voted  for  two  persons  only,  and  not  as  now 
directly  for  president  and  for  vice  president.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  (if  such  number  was  a  majority  of  the  electors)  was  elected 
president ;  and  the  person  having  the  next  greatest  number,  vice  president. 
In  1800  the  successful  candidates  for  president  (Jefferson)  and  vice  president 
(Burr)  had  the  same  number  of  votes,  and  the  house  of  representatives  voted 
thirty-six  times  before  deciding  which  should  be  president. 


292  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

the  president  is  chosen  by  the  house  of  representatives,  and 
the  vice  president  by  the  senate,  as  described  in  the 
twelfth  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 

The  Presidential  Succession. — If  both  president  and 
vice  president  die,  or  become  unable  to  perform  the  duties 
of  president,  Congress  is  given  power  by  the  constitution,^  to 
designate  what  officer  shall  act  as  president,  till  a  new  presi- 
dent is  elected  at  a  regular  presidential  election.  By  statute, 
passed  in  1887,  Congress  provided  that  the  following  offi- 
cers, if  qualified,  should  succeed  to  the  presidency  in  this 
order  :  i,  secretary  of  state ;  2,  secretary  of  the  treasury ;  3, 
secretary  of  war  ;  4,  attorney-general;  5,  postmaster-general; 
6,  secretary  of  the  navy ;  7,  secretary  of  the  interior. 

Impeachment — Any  civil  officer  of  the  United  States, 
including  the  president  and  vice  president,  may  be  im- 
peached for  treason,  bribery,  or  "  other  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors,"  and  if  convicted,  must  be  removed  from 
office.^  In  impeachment  cases  the  house  of  representatives 
presents  the  charges,  and  the  United  States  senate  sits  as  a 
court  to  try  the  accused.  A  two-thirds  vote  of  the  senators 
present  is  necessary  to  convict  an  impeached  officer.  The 
judgment  of  the  court  of  impeachment  cannot  extend  further 
than  to  remove  the  convicted  officer  from  his  office,  and  dis- 
qualify him  from  holding  any  office  of  honor,  trust  or  profit 
under  the  United  States.  But  an  officer  so  convicted  may 
also  be  indicted,  tried,  and  punished,  by  the  criminal  courts, 
like  any  ordinary  offender.  When  the  president  of  the 
United  States  is  impeached,  the  chief  justice  of  the  United 
States  presides  over  the  court  of  impeachment.^ 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  IT,  Section  l. 
»  United  States  Constitution,  Article  II.,  Section  4. 
3  United  States  Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  3. 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT.    293 

The  Judiciary  Department.-^— As  the  government  of  the 
United  States  has  its  own  law-making  and  law-enforcing 
powers,  superior  to  and  independent  of  the  governments  of 
the  several  States,  so  it  has  its  own  independent  judiciary  de- 
partment to  interpret  and  apply  the  United  States  Constitu- 
tion, laws  and  treaties.  The  judiciary  department  includes 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  provided  for  by  the 
constitution,^  and  the  inferior  courts  established  by  Coa- 
gress. 

Jurisdiction  of  United  States  Courts. — Suits  arising  un- 
der the  constitution,  laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States 
are  tried  in  the  United  States  courts.  A  man  charged  with 
ordinary  theft  is  tried  in  a  State  court,  for  theft  is  a  crime 
against  State  law ;  but  a  man  charged  with  stealing  and 
making  use  of  an  idea  protected  by  a  patent,  is  tried  in  a 
United  States  court,  because  patents  are  given  under  United 
States  law.  So  are  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  ministers 
and  consuls,  and  the  rights  of  United  States  citizens  when 
on  the  high  seas.^  Controversies,  in  which  the  United  States 
is  a  party,  controversies  between  two  or  more  States,  be- 
tween a  State  and  the  citizens  of  another  State,  between  the 
citizens  of  different  States,  or  between  a  State  or  its  citizens 
and  the  citizens  of  a  foreign  nation,  are  tried  in  United 
States  courts ;  but  no  State  may  be  sued  by  the  citizens  of 
another  State  or  by  the  subjects  of  a  foreign  nation. 

United  States  Courts  Enumerated. — The  courts  of  the 
United  States  are  the  supreme  court,  already  referred  to,  the 
circuit  courts,  the  circuit  court  of  appeals,  and  the  district 
courts.     The  judges  of  these  courts  are  appointed  by  the 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  i. 

2  Courts  applying  the  rules  of  law  governing  personal  and  property  rights 
on  the  high  seas  are  called  Admiralty  courts. 


294  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

president  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
copsent  of  the  senate.  They  hold  office  during  good  be- 
havior, and  receive  salaries  fixed  by  Congress. 

The  District  Courts. — The  district  courts  are  the  lowest 
United  States  courts.  Every  State  has  at  least  one  district 
court,  and  the  larger  States  two  or  three,^  each  presided  over 
by  a  United  States  district  judge.  All  crimes  committed 
against  the  United  States,  except  crimes  punishable  by 
death,  are  triable  in  district  court.  So  are  civil  cases  arising 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  An  appeal  may  be 
taken  from  the  decision  of  a  district  court  to  the  circuit 
court  of  appeals,  or  to  the  supreme  court.  Appeals  to  the 
supreme  court  are  taken  when  the  question  appealed  in- 
volves: I,  a  construction  of  the  constitution;  2,  the  con- 
stitutionality of  a  law,  State  or  national ;  3,  the  construction 
of  a  treaty ;  4,  a  punishment  for  a  great  crime. 

The  Circuit  Courts. — Next  above  the  United  States  dis- 
trict courts  are  the  circuit  courts.  There  are  nine  circuits 
in  the  United  States,  each  circuit  including  several  States. 
Two  or  more  circuit  judges  are  appointed  for  each  circuit, 
and  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  is  assigned  to  each. 
Circuit  courts  are  held  in  each  district  and  are  presided 
over  by  a  circuit  judge  or  justice,  or  by  a  district  judge, 

1  New  York  State  has  four :  The  Western  District,  including  Alleghany, 
Cattaraugus,  Chautauqua,  Chemung,  Erie,  Genesee,  Livingston,  Monroe,  Ni- 
agara, Ontario,  Orleans,  Schuyler,  Seneca,  Steuben,  "Wayne,  "Wyoming,  and 
Yates  counties ;  the  Northern  District,  including  Albany,  Broome,  Cayuga, 
Chenango,  Clinton,  Cortland,  Delaware,  Essex,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Hamilton, 
Herkimer,  Jefferson,  Lewis,  Madison,  Montgomery,  Oneida,  Onondago,  Os- 
wego, Otsego,  Rensselaer,  St.  Lawrence,  Saratoga,  Schenectady,  Schoharie, 
Tioga,  Tompkins,  Warren,  and  Washington  counties ;  the  Eastern  District, 
including  Richmond,  Kings,  Queens,  Nassau  and  Suffolk  counties ;  and  the 
Southern  District,  including  the  residue  of  the  State. 


DEPARTMENTS    OF    UNITED  STATES   GOVERNMENT.     295 

or  by  the  two  sitting  together.  Criminal  suits  and  civil 
suits,  involving  not  less  than  $20(X),  and  suits  that  arise 
under  the  patent  and  copyright  laws,  are  tried  in  circuit 
courts.  Appeals  from  circuit  courts  are  taken  to  the  cir- 
cuit court  of  appeals,  or  to  the  supreme  court. 

The  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals. — In  each  circuit  there 
is  a  circuit  court  of  appeals  consisting  of  three  judges  from 
the  circuit  —  when  possible,  a  supreme  court  justice  and 
two  circuit  judges.  The  circuit  court  of  appeals  hears 
cases  brought  up  to  it  on  appeal  from  district  courts  and 
from  circuit  courts  within  the  circuit. 

The  United  States  Supreme  Court. — Above  the  district 
and  circuit  courts,  and  above  the  circuit  court  of  appeals, 
stands  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  This  is  the 
highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  land,  and  the  final  authority 
in  all  questions  arising  under  the  constitution,  laws  and 
treaties  of  the  United  States.  The  supreme  court  sits  in  the 
National  Capitol  at  Washington.  It  is  composed  of  a  chief 
justice  and  eight  associate  justices,  and  the  presence  of  six 
is  necessary  to  render  a  decision.  This  court  has  the  power 
to  bring  before  it  sovereign  States  of  the  Union,  as  well  as 
their  citizens.  Its  chief  business  is  the  hearing  of  appeals 
brought  up  to  it  from  the  inferior  United  States  courts,  and 
from  the  highest  courts  of  the  several  States,  where  ques- 
tions  arise  involving  rights  under  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  the  United  States.^  The  supreme  court  has  original  juris- 
diction, in  cases  wherein  a  State  is  a  party  in  the  contro- 
versy, or  where  the  rights  of  ambassadors,  ministers,  and 
consuls  are  affected.     One  of  its  most  important  duties  is  to 

*  Appeals  from  decisions  of  the  courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are 
made  to  the  supreme  court.  Appeals  are  made  from  the  courts  of  the  Terri- 
tories to  the  United  States  circuit  courts  of  appeals  and  to  the  supreme  court. 


296  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

decide  whether  laws  framed  by  the  State  legislatures  or  by 
Congress,  are  in  accord  with  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  such  decisions  being  made  in  proceedings  similar  to 
those  brought  before  our  State  court  of  appeals  to  test  the 
constitutionality  of  a  State  law. 

Cases  Removed  from  a  State  Court  to  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court. — Suits  begun  in  State  courts  may  be  re- 
moved to  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  when  the 
highest  court  of  the  State  decides  against  the  validity  of  a 
statute  or  treaty  of  the  United  States,  or  when  the  claim  is 
made  that  a  State  law  or  a  provision  of  the  State  constitu- 
tion, is  not  in  harmony  with  the  constitution,  laws,  or  treaties 
of  the  United  States. 

United  States  Marshals. — Attached  to  every  United 
States  court  is  an  officer  known  as  a  United  States  marshal. 
It  is  his  duty  to  carry  out  the  writs,  judgments,  and  orders 
of  his  court,  much  as  a  New  York  sheriff  carries  out  the 
orders  of  the  State  courts.  A  United  States  marshal,  if  re- 
sisted in  the  execution  of  the  law,  may  like  a  constable  or 
sheriff,  call  any  citizen  to  his  aid  ;  and  he  may,  if  necessary, 
apply  to  the  president  for  the  aid  of  troops  from  the  United 
States  army. 

United  States  District  Attorneys. — Every  judiciary  dis- 
trict of  the  United  States  has  a  prosecuting  officer  known 
as  a  United  States  district  attorney,  whose  duty  it  is  to  prose- 
cute offenders  against  United  States  laws  in  his  district,  in 
much  the  same  way  as  the  district  attorney  of  a  New  York 
county  prosecutes  offenders  against  the  State  law. 

The  Jury  in  United  States  Courts. — The  constitution  re- 
quires that  the  trial  of  all  crimes  against  the  United  States, 
except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury ;  and  that 
the  trial  must  be  in  the  State  where  the  alleged  crime  was 


DEPARTMENTS   OF  UNITED   STATES   GOVERNMENT.      297 

committed.  If  not  committed  in  a  state,  the  trial  must  be 
in  a  place  designated  by  Congress.^ 

The  Court  of  Claims. — As  the  United  States  may  not  be 
sued  by  one  of  its  citizens,  Congress  has  established  a  court 
of  claims,  which  sits  at  Washington,  to  hear  and  investigate 
the  claims  of  private  parties  against  the  national  govern- 
ment. Appeals  from  its  decisions  are  to  the  supreme  court ; 
but  ordinarily  its  "findings"  are  sent  to  Congress,  which 
appropriates  money  to  pay  the  claims  found  just. 

Other  Courts — To  secure  quickness  and  uniformity  in 
the  decision  of  customs  cases,  Congress  has  established  a 
special  Customs  Court  of  Appeals,  to  which  appeals  are 
made  in  such  cases,  instead  of  to  the  regular  courts.  Like- 
wise the  Commerce  Court  has  jurisdiction  in  certain  cases 
arising  under  the  laws  governing  interstate  commerce. 

Federal  Writs. — United  States  courts  make  use  of  the 
writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  (p.  128),  which  directs  that  a  per- 
son in  confinement  be  brought  before  the  court,  to  ascertain 
whether  such  confinement  is  lawful  or  not;  the  writ  of 
Mandamus,  which  orders  an  inferior  court,  corporation  or 
officer  to  discharge  a  legal  duty  described  in  the  writ ;  and 
the  writ  of  Injunction,  which  commands  the  respondent 
to  do  or  not  to  do  a  certain  prescribed  act. 

Overlapping  Powers. — The  president's  lawmaking 
(veto)  and  treaty-making  powers,  his  judicial  power  to 
pardon  criminals ;  the  senate's  power  in  connection  with 
the  appointment  of  federal  judges  and  other  officers,  its 
judicial  powers  of  impeachment,  and  of  judging  of  the 
qualifications  of  its  own  members ;  and  the  powers  of  the 
house  similar  to  these  judicial  powers  of  the  senate,  are 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  "  overlapping  powers." 

^  United  States  Constitution,  Article  III.,  Section  2. 


298  GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  NATION. 

Federal  Finances.— Although  the  officers  and  em- 
ployees of  the  various  departments  of  the  national  govern- 
ment number  more  than  200,000,  their  salaries  form  only 
a  small  part  of  the  expenses  of  the  government.  The 
bulk  of  the  expenditure  is  for  the  army  and  navy  and  for 
pensions  paid  on  account  of  wars  in  the  past,  as  shown  by 
the  following  table  for  1909: 

Army $126,000,000 

Navy 115,000,000 

Pensions 162,000,000 

Post  Office— deficiency  ^ 19,000,000 

Indians 16,000,000 

Public  Works 90,000,000 

Redemption  of  Public  Debt 15,000,000 

Interest  on  Public  Debt 22,000,000 

Civil  Establishment  and  Miscellaneous 142,000,000 

The  income  of  the  national  government  is  derived  chiefly 
from  customs  duties  and  from  internal  revenue  (page  214), 
to  which  should  be  added  the  returns  from  the  tax  on  the 
earnings  of  corporations  levied  by  act  of  1909.  The  re- 
ceipts from  the  postal  service  have  usually  not  been  great 
enough  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  that  service.  Receipts  from 
the  sale  of  pubHc  lands  are  of  dwindling  importance. 
Small  sums  are  received  also  from  the  occasional  sale  of 
other  public  property. 

Public  Debt. — The  amount  of  the  interest-bearing 
national  debt  in  1909  was  ^913,0^0,000.  This  was  caused 
chiefly  by  the  cost  of  the  Civil  War,  the  War  with  Spain, 
and  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal.  The  interest- 
bearing  debt  in  1816  was  1^127,000,000;  in  1835,  1^34,000; 

1  The  total  cost  of  the  postal  service  was  ^222,000,000,  but  receipts  from 
sale  of  stamps,  etc.,  paid  ^^203,000,000  of  this.  Thus  the  post  office  is  seen 
to  be  nearly  self-supporting. 


DEPARTMENTS   OF  UNITED   STATES   GOVERNMENT.      299 

in  i860,  ^65,000,000;  in  1865,  ;^2, 38 1,000,000;  in  1898, 
5847,000,000;  in  1899,  $1,046,000,000.  The  debt  is 
created  by  authority  of  acts  of  Congress.  It  is  paid  as  it 
falls  due,  out  of  surplus  revenue,  or  else  it  is  renewed  or 
refunded  by  issuing  new  bonds.^ 

Growth  of  Government. — The  first  eleven  amendments 
(pp.  268-271)  to  the  constitution  were  additional  limitations 
to  the  power  of  the  federal  government.  The  twelfth 
(p.  291)  made  a  change  which  experience  had  proved 
necessary  in  the  manner  of  electing  the  president  and  vice 
president.  The  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amend- 
ments, designed  to  settle  problems  rising  from  the  Civil 
War,  enlarged  the  powers  of  the  national  government. 

The  provision  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  forbidding  any  State  to 
"  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or  property  without  due  process  of 
law  "  has  been  interpreted  as  giving  the  national  courts  jurisdiction  over 
a  large  number  of  cases  previously  settled  in  State  courts  only. 

The  provision  that  "  all  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  of-  the  State  wherein  they  reside "  settled  a  question  that 
had  been  in  dispute  since  the  beginning  of  the  government.  It  makes 
State  citizenship  dependent  on  federal.  This  and  the  war  which  led 
up  to  it  also  settled  the  question  of  the  citizen's  allegiance :  that  alle- 
giance is  not  divided,  but  double ;  he  must  obey  the  government  of  both 
State  and  nation,  but  primarily  that  of  the  nation. 

But  the  changes  formally  made  by  amendments  repre- 
sent by  no  means  all  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
national  government.  For  instance,  the  very  important 
power  of  the  supreme  court  to  declare  an  act  of  Congress 
unconstitutional,  is  not  set  forth  in  the  constitution  or  in 

1  Our  debt  is  less  in  proportion  than  that  of  most  other  countries;  e,g.  the 
debt  of  Great  Britain  is  about  $4,000,000,000  ;  of  France,  $5,500,000,000  ;  of 
Spain,  $1,800,000,000, — all  countries  of  smaller  population  than  ours. 


300  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

any  amendment.  It  may  be  considered  part  of  an  un- 
written constitution  (see  page  115)  which  we  possess  along 
with  our  written  one.  Other  unwritten  provisions  which 
have  come  to  have  almost  the  force  of  clauses  in  the  con- 
stitution are:  (i)  that  no  person  shall  be  elected  president 
more  than  two  terms  in  succession ;  (2)  that  the  presi- 
dential electors  shall  each  vote  for  the  nominee  of  his 
party ;  (3)  that  the  heads  of  the  great  executive  depart- 
ments shall  act  as  the  president's  cabinet.^  The  force  of 
each  provision  rests  merely  upon  precedent ;  that  is,  each 
of  these  rules  is  felt  to  be  binding  because  it  has  been 
recognized  as  proper  in  so  many  preceding  cases. 

President's  Term. — In  the  constitutional  convention  vari- 
ous terms  of  office  were  proposed  for  the  president;  for 
some  time  the  prevaiUng  opinion  was  that  it  should  be  six 
years,  and  that  he  should  not  be  ehgible  for  reelection.  A 
short  term  is  objectionable  as  causing  too  frequent  changes 
in  the  policy  of  the  government ;  a  long  term,  as  putting  it 
in  the  power  of  a  president  to  defy  the  will  of  the  people  too 
long.  The  constitution  does  not  forbid  any  number  of  re- 
elections  ;  but  Washington  and  Jefferson  established  the 
precedent  of  refusing  a  third  term. 

The  Electoral  College. — The  framers  of  the  constitution 
expected  that  the  electors  would  exercise  individual  judg- 
ment in  voting  for  president,  and  that  the  president  would 
act  independently  of  political  parties.  On  the  contrary,  it 
soon  came  about  that  the  function  of  the  electors  was 
merely  to  register  votes  for  candidates  previously  selected 
by  parties :  wooden  counters  would  do  as  well.  Not  only 
is  the  president  now  nominated  by  the  national  convention 

1  The  possibility  has  been  suggested  that  in  the  "House  of  Governors" 
(p.  159)  we  may  see  the  beginning  of  another  provision  of  this  kind. 


DEPARTMENTS   OF  UNITED  STATES   GOVERNMENT.    301 

of  a  political  party,  but  after  election  he  acts  as  the  leader 
of  his  party.  Because  of  his  power  to  appoint  many  officers, 
and  his  ability  to  gain  a  hearing  from  the  people,  he  can 
bring  great  pressure  to  bear  on  members  of  Congress. 
Thus  he  really  exercises  far  greater  control  of  legislation 
than  is  given  by  his  mere  veto  power. 

The  Cabinet. — The  constitution  does  not  contain  the  word 
"  cabinet."  It  provides  that  the  president  "  may  require, 
in  writing,  the  opinion  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of 
the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices."^  Gradually  it  came 
about,  instead,  that  the  heads  of  departments  hold  regular 
meetings  where  they  act  as  advisers  of  the  president,  upon 
all  questions  he  may  choose  to  lay  before  them.  Their 
positions  are  highly  important  and  influential;  but  as 
cabinet  members  they  are  merely  advisers.  The  president 
need  not  take  the  advice  given ;  on  the  contrary,  the  presi- 
dent may  direct  each  as  to  the  conduct  of  his  department, 
and  remove  him  if  he  does  not  obey.  Power  and  respon- 
sibility are  thus  concentrated  in  the  president  alone. 

The  cabinet  officers  also  make  reports  for  the  use  of  Congress  and 
have  much  influence  on  that  body ;  but  they  are  not  members  of  Con- 
gress, and  cannot  even  speak  on  the  floor  of  the  national  legislature. 
In  this  detail  our  cabinet  system  is  in  marked  contrast  with  that  of 
Great  Britain  and  France,  where  the  cabinet  ministers  or  heads  of  de- 
partments are  members  of  the  national  legislature  and  often  speak  there 

SUMMARY 

United  States  government,  like  State  and  local  govern- 
ments, is  carried  on  in  three  departments — legislative,  exec- 
utive and  judicial.     Congress  is  the  chief  branch  of  the 

1  United  States  Constitution,  Article  II.,  Section  2. 


302  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NATION. 

legislative  department.  The  president  is  at  the  head  of 
the  executive  department.  The  judiciary  department  is 
composed  of  United  States  courts  and  judges. 

Congress  is  composed  of  a  senate  of  two  members  elected 
from  each  State  by  its  legislature ;  and  of  a  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, with  members  from  each  State  in  proportion  to 
its  population,  elected  by  direct  vote  of  the  people. 

Each  particular  Congress  lasts  two  years,  and  has  two 
regular  sessions.  The  long  session  begins  in  December  of 
the  year  following  the  election  of  members  of  the  house. 
The  short  session  begins  in  the  following  December  and 
ends  at  noon  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  following  March. 

United  States  laws  are  passed  by  Congress  in  much  the 
same  way  as  laws  are  passed  by  the  State  legislature.  The 
president  has  a  veto  over  bills  passed  by  Congress. 

The  president,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
senate,  appoints  ambassadors,  ministers  and  consuls  to  rep- 
resent the  United  States  in  foreign  nations,  negotiates  trea- 
ties between  the  United  States  and  such  nations;  and 
appoints  the  following  heads  of  departments  known  as  the 
"president's  cabinet"  :  secretary  of  state,  secretary  of  war, 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  secretary  of  the  navy,  secretary 
of  the  interior,  postmaster-general,  attorney-general,  secre- 
tary of  agriculture,  secretary  of  commerce  and  labor.  The 
president  is  commander  in  chief  of  the  United  States  army 
and  navy. 

The  judiciary  department  is  composed  of  the  United 
States  supreme  court,  the  United  States  circuit  and  district 
courts,  and  the  circuit  court  of  appeals.  These  courts  have 
jurisdiction  generally  of  questions  involving  the  constitution, 
laws,  and  treaties  of  the  United  States,  and  the  conduct  of 
United  States  citizens  on  the  high  seas. 


DEPARTMENTS  OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT.    303 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

Describe  the  method  of  electing  United  States  senators, 
and  state  the  requirements  for  senators,  as  to  age,  residence, 
and  citizenship.  What  constitutional  provision  keeps  a 
large  portion  of  the  senate  in  comparatively  close  touch 
with  the  people } 

How  is  the  number  of  representatives  to  which  a  State 
is  entitled  in  the  house  of  representatives  determined  ? 
Who  may  vote  for  representatives } 

How  is  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives 
chosen  ?  Describe,  in  a  general  way,  his  power  to  influence 
legislation. 

What  legislative  work  is  performed  by  committees  of  the 
senate  and  house  of  representatives } 

Give  in  detail  the  steps  necessary  to  pass  a  bill  over  the 
president's  veto.  What  kind  of  bills  must  originate  in  the 
house  of  representatives }     Why } 

What  provision  of  the  constitution  protects  freedom  of 
debate  in  Congress  ? 

Name  three  powers  of  the  president  in  connection  with 
the  work  of  the  executive  department. 

What  is  the  difference  between  an  ambassador  or  minis- 
ter, and  a  consul?  What  important  difference  between 
their  legal  rights  while  residing  in  a  foreign  country.? 
How  are  treaties  between  the  United  States  and  foreign 
governments  made } 

May  the  president  of  the  United  States  declare  war 
against  a  foreign  nation  ? 

What  constitutional  prohibition  controls  the  president's 
power  to  prosecute  war } 

What  is  a  president's  "  message " .?     How  is  the  presi- 


304  GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  NATION 

dent's  power  of  appointment  limited  by  the  civil  service 
laws  ? 

Name  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  describe  the  duties 
of  each.  What  department  controls  United  States  pen- 
sions? Indian  affairs?  Which  conducts  explorations? 
Which  grants  patents?  Which  has  charge  of  matters  re- 
lating to  education?  Describe  the  work  of  United  States 
marshals;  of  United  States  district  attorneys. 

Name  in  their  order  the  officers  entitled  to  succeed  the 
president  on  his  death  or  inability  to  perform  the  duties  of 
his  office. 

Describe  in  detail  the  manner  of  electing  the  president 
and  vice  president.    Who  and  what  are  presidential  electors  ? 

Describe  the  proceedings  in  an  impeachment  of  the 
president  of  the  United  States. 

What  good  reason  for  the  establishment  of  United  States 
courts,  independent  of  State  judicial  tribunals  ?  Name  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  in  their  order,  and  describe  gen- 
erally the  jurisdiction  of  each.  How  are  the  judges  of 
these  courts  chosen  ?  For  what  term  of  office  ?  When 
may  a  case  begun  in  a  State  court  be  removed  to  the  United 
States  supreme  court?  Describe  the  constitutional  pro- 
vision providing  for  jury  trials  in  United  States  courts. 

What  work  is  done  by  the  United  States  court  of 
claims  ? 

ADDITIONAL   READING. 

Bryce's  American  Commonwealth,  Volume  I.,  Part  I.,  Chapter 
XII.,  "The  Senate;  Its  Working  and  Influence";  Chapter  XIII., 
"The  House  of  Representatives";  Chapter  XIV.,  "The  House  at 
Work";  Chapter  XV.,  "The  Committees  of  Congress";  Chapter 
XVIII.,  "Relations  of  the  Two  Houses";  Chapter  VI.,  "Presiden- 
tial Powers  and   Duties";    Chapter  IX.,   "The  Cabinet";    Chapter 


DEPARTMENTS   OF  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT.    305 

XX.,  "Relations  of  Congress  to  the  President";  Chapter  XXII., 
"The  Federal  Courts";  Chapter  XXXIII.,  "Interpretation  of  the 
Constitution." 

GENERAL   BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE. 

For  a  manual  of  constitutional  law,  see  Cooley's  General  Principles 
of  Constitutional  Law  in  the  United  States  of  America.  For  the  sources 
and  general  principles  underlying  constitutional  government  in  Amer- 
ica, see  Hannis  Taylor's  The  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  English 
Constitution^  Part  I.,  introductory  chapter;  Stubbs's  Constitutional 
History  of  England;  Freeman's  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution 
from  the  Earliest  Times ;  Fiske's  American  Political  Ideas  Viewed 
from  the  Standpoint  of  Universal  History ;  Green's  Short  History  of  the 
English  People;  Howard's  Introduction  to  the  Local  Constitutional 
History  of  the  United  States  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  Series  of 
Historical  and  Political  Studies ;  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United 
States,  Volumes  I.,  IL  and  III. ;  Bancroft's  Formation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States ;  Schouler's  Constitutional  Studies.  Douglas 
Campbell  in  The  Puritan  in  England,  Holland  and  America  at- 
tempts to  trace  the  origin  of  many  of  our  political  institutions  to  the 
Dutch.  C.  E.  Stevens  in  Sources  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  combats  Campbell,  taking  the  view  that  most  American  politi- 
cal institutions  come  from  the  English. 

For  the  growth  and  development  of  constitutional  government  in 
New  York,  see  Broadhead's  History  of  New  York ;  Documents  Relating 
to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  especially  "  Holland 
Documents,"  Volumes  I.  and  II.;  the  Historical  Note  in  Volume  I. 
of  the  Colonial  Laws  of  New  York,  compiled  by  the  Statutory  Re- 
vision Committee ;  Lamb's  History  of  the  City  of  New  York ;  Hill's 
Development  of  Constitutional  Law  in  New  York  State ;  Elting's  Dutch 
Village  Communities  on  the  Hudson  ;  Thwaites's  Colonies,  Chapters  IX. 
and  X. ;  Fiske's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies.  The  Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic  by  John  Lothrop  Motley,  condensed  and  continued  by  Wil- 
liam Eliot  Griffis,  contains  many  references  to  Dutch  institutions  an(i 
influences  that  have  contributed  to  the  formation  of  American  politi- 
cal institutions. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
The  United  States  and  Other  Nations. 

An  account  of  the  governments  affecting  the  people  of 
New  York  does  not  end  with  a  description  of  the  govern- 
ment  of  the  United  States.  As  New  York  is  a  member  of 
the  United  States,  bound  by  all  the  common  laws  of  the 
Union,  so  the  United  States  is  a  member  of  the  great  family 
of  civilized  nations,  bound  by  all  the  common  customs  and 
rules  regulating  the  intercourse  of  such  nations.  The  cus- 
toms, rules  and  agreements,  regulating  the  intercourse 
of  civilized  nations  with  one  another  are  known  as  inter- 
national law. 

International  Law  Differs  From  State  and  National 
Law. — International  law  differs  from  the  laws  of  the  State 
and  of  the  United  States  in  this  important  particular,  that 
while  the  latter  are  mainly  positive  written  enactments,  that 
may  be  enforced  by  State  and  national  executive  ofBcers,  in- 
ternational law,  on  the  contrary,  is  made  up  chiefly  of  cus- 
toms that  have  been  gradually  adopted,  the  enforcement  of 
which  depends  largely  upon  the  honor  of  the  nations  recog- 
nizing the  obligation  of  such  law.^  There  is  no  power  out- 
side of  a  nation  to  force  it  to  observe  the  rules  of  interna- 

» International  law  is  a  system  of  rules  adopted  by  the  free  choice  of  cer- 
tain nations,  for  the  purpose  of  governing  their  intercourse  with  each  other, 
^nd  not  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  natural  justice.  It  has  grown  up 
by  degrees,  and  has  been  submitted  during  its  progress  to  sundry  modifica- 
tions. It  is  the  most  voluntary  of  all  codes. — Woolsey,  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  International  Law. 
306 


THE   UNITED  STATES  AND    OTHER  NATIONS.        307 

tional  law,  unless  it  be  the  power  of  some  other  nation  or 
nations  making  war  upon  it. 

Official  Intercourse  between  Nations  Conducted  by 
Ambassadors,  Ministers  and  Consuls. — Intercourse  be- 
tween the  governments  of  civilized  nations,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  is  officially  carried  on  by  officers  known  as 
ambassadors,  ministers  and  consuls.  The  two  former  are 
known  as  diplomatic  officers.  They  aid  in  the  negotiations 
of  treaties  and  represent  generally  their  governments  before 
the  governments  to  which  they  are  sent.  A  consul,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  usually  only  a  business  agent  who  looks  after 
the  commercial  interests  of  his  government,  and  after  the 
interests  of  any  of  its  citizens,  who  may  be  in  the  country 
to  which  he  is  sent.  All  these  officers  when  performing 
their  official  duties,  usually  reside  in  the  territory  of  the 
nation  to  which  they  are  accredited. 

Ambassadors  and  Ministers. — Ambassadors  and  minis- 
ters represent  different  ranks  of  diplomatic  officers,  the 
former  being  the  highest  of  such  officials,  and  sent  only  to 
and  from  the  great  powers.  Thus  the  United  States  sends 
to  and  receives  from  such  nations  as  France,  Germany  and 
Great  Britain,  officials  known  as  ambassadors  extraordinary 
and  plenipotentiary;  while  it  sends  to  and  receives  from 
such  powers  as  Belgium,  Bolivia  and  Chili,  officers  known 
as  ministers  extraordinary  and  plenipotentiary.  Ambassa- 
dors extraordinary  and  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States 
have  the  full  power  of  the  highest  diplomatic  officers,  and 
receive  annual  salaries  of  ;^ 1 7, 500  each.  Ministers  plenipo- 
tentiary have  full  powers  of  diplomatic  officers,  but  receive 
salaries  ranging  from  $^  ,000  to  $  1 2,000.  A  still  lower  grade 
of  minister  is  the  minister  resident,  sent  to  such  powers  as 
Liberia. 


3o8  INTERNATIONAL   RELATIONS. 

Rights  and  Privileges  of  Ambassadors  and  Ministers. — 
An  ambassador  or  minister,  though  residing  at  the  capital 
of  the  foreign  nation  to  which  he  is  sent,  is  subject  in  no 
way  to  the  laws  of  the  foreign  government.  His  person, 
his  official  residence,  and  family,  are  considered  as  being 
within  the  territory  and  under  the  laws  of  the  government 
that  sends  him.  If  a  diplomatic  official  commit  a  crime 
against  the  laws  of  the  country  to  which  he  is  sent,  he  may 
be  returned  to  his  own  country  as  a  persona  non  grata — a 
person  not  satisfactory  as  a  diplomatic  representative. 

Consuls,  Their  Rights  and  Duties. — A  consul,  unless 
there  be  special  agreement  to  the  contrary,  has  no  such  ex- 
traordinary rights  and  privileges  as  an  ambassador  or  minis- 
ter. Consuls  are  sent  by  the  different  civilized  governments 
to  the  chief  ports  of  all  foreign  nations,  and  while  there  are 
subject  to  the  ordinary  laws,  civil  and  criminal,  of  the  nation 
to  which  they  are  sent.  A  consul's  duties  are  determined 
by  the  laws  of  the  country  sending  him,  and  by  treaty. 
Some  of  the  duties  of  the  United  States  consuls  in  foreign 
countries,  are  to  look  after  the  interests  of  American  ships 
and  seamen,  and  other  citizens  of  the  United  States  while 
abroad,  to  give  certificates  for  various  purposes,  and  to  make 
reports  to  our  government  on  conditions  of  industry  and 
trade. 

Treaties.— The  details  of  the  intercourse  between  differ- 
ent civilized  nations,  are  now  usually  very  largely  regulated 
by  formal  agreements  known  as  treaties.  Any  two  nations 
may  unite  in  making  any  treaty,  that  does  not  violate  the 
accepted  principles  of  international  law.  Each  government 
enforces  the  provisions  of  its  treaties  upon  its  own  citizens. 
Should  a  treaty  be  violated  by  one  of  the  governments  en- 
tering into  it,  the  other  may  regard  it  as  broken,  and  de- 


THE   UNITED  STATES  AND   OTHER  NATIONS.        Zog 

mand  redress;  or,  it  may  still  require  the  observance  of  the 
treaty.  But  such  a  demand  or  requirement  could  be  en- 
forced  only  by  act  of  war. 

Rights  of  Travelers  in  Foreign  Countries. — Travelers  in 
foreign  countries  are  subject  to  the  laws,  civil  and  criminal, 
of  the  countries  through  which  they  pass,  and  they  may,  as 
a  rule,  be  tried  and  punished  by  the  local  authorities  for 
violating  such  laws.  The  same  is  true  of  citizens  of  one 
country  residing  temporarily  in  another.  But  every  govern- 
ment is  bound  to  protect  its  own  citizens  in  person  and 
property,  against  arbitrary  and  unjust  acts  committed  in  an- 
other country. 

Foreign  Governments  May  Return  Escaped  Criminals. 
— By  treaties  made  between  two  governments,  a  person 
who  commits  a  crime  in  one  country  and  escapes  to  an- 
other,  may,  on  demand  of  the  officers  of  the  former  country, 
be  given  up  to  them  to  be  tried  in  the  place  where  the 
crime  was  committed.  This  formal  surrender  of  an  escaped 
criminal  is  known  as  extradition,  and  treaties  providing  for 
such  surrender  of  criminals  are  extradition  treaties.  Polit- 
ical offenders  are  not  usually  included  among  the  persons  to 
be  returned  under  extradition  treaties. 

Tariffs  and  Embargoes. — The  free  commercial  inter- 
course between  nations  is,  as  we  have  seen,  frequently  re- 
stricted by  tariff  laws,  imposing  taxes  on  imported  goods. 
Such  a  law  may  be  simply  a  means  of  raising  revenue  for 
the  government  making  the  law ;  or  it  may  be  enacted  to 
protect  domestic  manufacturers  against  the  free  competition 
of  foreign  manufacturers  ;  or  it  may  be  a  retaliatory  measure 
against  a  government  that  refuses  to  admit  the  products  of 
another  nation.  On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  also  seen, 
two  governments  may  enter  into  a  reciprocity  treaty,  whereby 


3IO  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS, 

each  country  agrees  to  admit  freely  the  products  of  the  other. 
By  an  act  of  embargo,  all  the  vessels,  domestic  and  foreign, 
in  the  ports  of  a  country,  may  be  prohibited  from  leaving 
these  ports  during  a  certain  specified  time.  Tariffs  and 
embargoes  are  enforced  by  the  government  enacting  them. 

^Vhen  Nations  go  to  War. — Nations  at  war  with  each 
other  are  known  as  belligerents,  and  all  other  nations  as 
neutrals.  Combatants  are  members  of  the  military  and 
naval  forces,  actually  engaged  in  war.  Noncombatants 
are  citizens  of  the  belligerent  nations  not  directly  engaged  in 
prosecuting  the  war.  Combatants  may  be  legally  killed  or 
taken  prisoners  of  war  by  the  forces  of  the  belligerent  nations. 
Noncombatants  may  neither  be  killed  nor  captured.  The 
citizen  noncombatants  of  one  nation  may  be  allowed  to  re- 
main within  the  territory  of  another  nation  at  war  with  it, 
or  they  may  be  ordered  to  leave  the  territory  with  their 
goods  and  property.  While  they  remain  legally  and  peace- 
ably within  the  territory  of  their  enemy,  noncombatants 
are  entitled  to  the  protection  of  his  laws. 

The  Declaration  of  War. — War  usually  begins  by  a 
formal  public  declaration  of  war  by  the  governments  con- 
cerned, though  actual  fighting  may  precede  such  a  declara- 
tion. The  declaration  of  war  is  a  notice  to  the  citizens  of 
belligerents  and  neutrals,  that  a  state  of  war  exists,  and  that 
they  must  regulate  their  actions  accordingly.  After  a  formal 
declaration  of  war,  all  intercourse  and  trade  between  the 
belligerent  nations  is  supposed  to  cease,  and  contracts  made 
between  the  subjects  of  one  belligerent  and  those  of  another 
are  void.  War  is  ended  by  a  formal  treaty  of  peace  between 
the  belligerent  governments.  Property  captured  after. the 
adoption  of  a  treaty  of  peace,  must  be  restored  to  the  orig- 
inal owners. 


THE    UNITED   STATES  AND   OTHER  NATIONS,       311 

Property  Rights  During  War. — Only  public  property 
used  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting  the  war,  may  be  de- 
stroyed  or  captured  by  a  belligerent  under  the  rules  of  in- 
ternational law.  Thus  forts,  guns,  ammunition,  ships,  mili- 
tary and  naval  stores  of  all  kinds,  railroads  engaged  in  trans- 
porting troops  and  supplies,  are  subject  to  capture  and  con- 
fiscation  by  an  enemy.  Private  property  belonging  to  an 
enemy's  subjects,  and  not  used  for  prosecuting  the  war,  may 
not  be  destroyed  or  captured.  An  exception  to  this  rule  is 
made  in  the  case  of  the  private  property  of  an  enemy's  sub- 
jects when  on  ships  at  sea.  All  the  merchant  vessels  of  an 
enemy,  with  their  crews  and  cargoes,  are  subject  to  capture. 
Such  captures  are  called  prizes  of  war,  and  belong  to  the 
government  making  the  capture.  Another  exception  is 
where  an  invading  army  finds  it  necessary  to  subsist  wholly 
or  partly  upon  the  country  invaded.  In  such  cases  the 
property  of  noncombatants  may  be  taken  for  use  of  the 
invading  army.  The  rule  is  to  pay  for  such  property,  but 
it  is  not  always  observed. 

Rights  and  Duties  of  Neutrals. — It  is  the  duty  of  the 
governments  of  neutral  nations  to  in  no  way  aid  either  of 
the  belligerents  during  the  prosecution  of  a  war;  but  neutral 
governments  are  not  always  responsible  for  the  acts  of  their 
subjects.  A  neutral  nation  has  the  right  to  forbid  the  trans- 
portation of  the  troops  or  supplies  of  a  belligerent  across  its 
territory ;  and  no  fighting  may  be  done  or  captures  made 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  neutral,  either  on  land  or  water. 
The  subjects  of  a  neutral  nation  may  as  a  rule,  freely  con- 
tinue their  trade  with  the  subjects  of  the  belligerent  nations ; 
and  a  belligerent  may  not  disturb  goods  belonging  to  the 
subject  of  a  neutral  nation,  even  though  these  goods  be 
captured  'upon  a  merchant  vessel  belonging  to  the  subjects 


312  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS. 

of  a  belligerent  enemy.  The  war  ships  of  belligerents  may 
freely  visit  neutral  ports,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  mer- 
chant vessels  of  belligerent  nations ;  but  war  vessels  may 
not  take  on  military  stores  at  neutral  ports,  neither  may 
privateers  be  fitted  out  in  such  ports. 

Contraband  of  War — An  exception  to  the  rule  that  the 
goods  of  neutral  subjects  may  not  be  captured  by  belliger- 
ents, is  in  the  case  of  property  known  as  contraband  of  war. 
This  is  property,  such  as  arms,  ammunition,  horses,  military 
and  naval  stores,  that  may  be  used  in  directly  prosecuting 
the  war.  Such  contraband  of  war,  the  subjects  of  a  neutral 
nation  have  no  right  to  supply  to  either  belligerent;  and 
contraband  of  war  destined  for  a  belligerent,  may  be  cap- 
tured and  confiscated  by  the  other  belligerent,  even  upon 
the  vessels  of  neutrals.  But  no  such  captures  may  be  made 
within  the  territory  of  a  neutral  nation.  The  belligerent 
governments  have  a  so-called  right  of  search,  which  they 
may  exercise  upon  any  neutral  private  merchant  vessel 
when  on  the  high  seas,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  contraband 
of  war  be  on  board.  Such  a  vessel  refusing  to  be  searched, 
may  be  captured  by  the  belligerent  as  a  prize  of  war.^ 

» Each  belligerent  government  usually  decides  for  itself  what  particular 
article  will  be  considered  and  captured  as  contraband  of  war,  when  about  to 
be  supplied  to  the  opposing  belligerent.  The  government  of  the  United 
States  during  our  late  war  with  Spain  issued  the  following  order  to  our  navy 
relative  to  contraband  of  war: 

"  The  term  contraband  of  war  comprehends  only  articles  having  a  belliger- 
ent destination,  as  to  an  enemy's  port  or  fleet.  With  this  explanation  the 
following  articles  are,  for  the  present  to  be  treated  as  contraband  :  Absolute  con- 
traband— ordnance;  machine  guns  and  their  appliances,  and  the  parts  thereof ; 
armor  plate,  and  whatever  pertains  to  the  offensive  and  defensive  armament 
of  naval  vessels ;  arms  and  instruments  of  iron,  steel,  brass,  or  copper,  or  of 
any  other  material,  such  arms  and  instruments  being  specially  adapted  for 
use  in  wai    by  land  or  sea ;  torpedoes  and  their  appurtenances ;  cases  for 


THE    UNITED   STATES  AND    OTHER   NATIONS.        313 

Blockades. — During  the  progress  of  a  war  one  belligerent 
often  blockades  the  ports  or  coasts  of  the  other  belligerent. 
Under  the  rules  of  a  blockade,  no  vessel  may  leave  or  enter 
a  blockaded  port,  without  permission  of  the  party  blockad- 
ing it.  The  same  is  true  as  to  communicating  by  land  with 
a  city  that  is  blockaded  on  the  land  side.  Neutral  vessels 
attempting  to  enter  or  leave  a  blockaded  port,  may  be  cap- 
tured and  confiscated  as  prizes  of  war.  But  a  blockade,  to 
be  effective  under  the  rules  of  international  law,  must  be 
actually  maintained  by  the  armed  forces  of  the  belligerent. 
Formal  notice  of  the  existence  of  a  blockade  must  be  given 
by  the  belligerent  enforcing  it,  in  order  to  make  lawful  the 
confiscating  of  property  belonging  to  citizens  of  neutral 
nations  attempting  to  pass  the  blockade. 

Privateers  and  Privateering. — Private  war  vessels,  as  we 
have  seen,  may  be  fitted  out  to  prey  upon  an  enemy's  com- 
merce during  the  existence  of  war.  Such  vessels  are  called 
privateers,  and  they  are  given  authority  to  make  captures, 
by  a  beUigerent  government  issuing  to  the  owner  of  a 
privateer,  so-called  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal.^  By  a 
treaty  concluded  at  Paris  in  1856,  the  principal  European 
powers  agreed  to  license  no  privateers  in  future  wars  among 
themselves.     The  United  States  has  refused  to  unite  in  such 

mines,  of  whatever  material ;  engineering  and  transport  materials,  such  as 
gun  carriages,  caissons,  cartridge  boxes,  campaigning  forges,  canteens,  pon- 
toons ;  ordnance  stores ;  portable  range  finders ;  signal  flags  destined  for  naval 
use ;  ammunition  and  explosives  of  all  kinds  ;  machinery  for  the  manufacture 
of  arms  and  munitions  of  war ;  saltpeter  ;  military  accoutrements  and  equip- 
ments of  all  sorts ;  horses.  Conditionally  contraband — coal,  when  destined 
for  a  naval  station,  a  port  of  call  or  a  ship  or  ships  of  the  enemy;  materials 
for  the  construction  of  railways  or  telegraphs,  and  money,  when  such  mate- 
rials or  money  are  destined  for  the  enemy's  forces ;  provisions  when  destined 
for  an  enemy's  ship  or  ships  or  for  a  place  besieged." 
I  See  "  War  Powers,"  Chapter  XXII. 


314  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS. 

an  agreement,  but  the  president,  during  our  late  war  with 
Spain,  announced  the  determination  of  our  government  to 
adhere  during  the  war  to  the  anti-privateering  clause  of  the 
Paris  treaty. 

Arbitration. — Arbitration,  instead  of  war,  is  coming  more 
and  more  to  be  a  method  of  settling  disputes  between  na- 
tions. It  is  the  custom  of  each  government  in  dispute,  to 
choose  some  one  or  more  impartial  officials  of  a  government 
not  interested  in  the  dispute,  to  be  known  as  arbiters  to 
whom  the  disputing  governments  agree  to  leave  the  ques- 
tion at  issue.  There  is  no  actual  force,  however,  to  compel 
a  nation  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  such  a  court  of  arbitra- 
tion, although  it  is  morally  bound  to  submit. 

The  Hague  Conference  and  Treaty. — At  the  call  of  the 
Czar  of  Russia,  accredited  representatives  of  twenty-six  of 
the  leading  powers  of  the  world  met  in  1899,  at  The  Hague, 
in  what  is  known  as  The  International  Peace  Conference,^ 
and  agreed  upon  a  treaty,  which  has  since  been  ratified  by 
the  governments  represented.     This  treaty  provides: 

First,  In  case  of  serious  disagreement  between  any  two 
of  the  powers  ratifying  the  treaty,  before  there  is  a  resort 
to  actual  war,  that  one  more  of  the  other  powers  may  offer 
their  services  as  mediators  between  them ;  further,  that  each 
of  the  powers  at  variance  "  may  choose  respectively  a 
power  to  whom  they  may  intrust  the  mission  of  entering 
into  direct  communication  with  the  power  chosen  on  the 

*  Representatives  of  the  following-named  powers  attended  The  Hague 
Conference,  and  agreed  to  the  treaty  for  arbitration :  Austria,  Belgium, 
Bulgaria,  China,  Denmark,  France,  Germany,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
Greece,  Holland,  Italy,  Japan,  Luxembourg,  Mexico,  Montenegro,  Persia, 
Portugal,  Roumania,  Russia,  Servia,  Siam,  Spain,  Sweden  and  Norway, 
Switzerland,  Turkey,  and  the  United  States  of  America.  The  governments 
of  all  these  powers  have  formally  ratified  the  work  of  the  conference.    ' 


THE   UNITED  STATES  AND    OTHER  NATIONS.        315 

Other  side,"  with  the  object  of  preventing,  if  possible,  the 
war ;  and  that  for  a  period  of  thirty  days  the  States  in  con- 
flict shall  cease  from  all  direct  communication  on  the  sub- 
ject in  dispute,  to  allow,  if  possible,  the  arbiters  so  selected 
to  settle  it  in  a  peaceable  manner. 

Second,  That  when  differences  of  an  international  nature 
arise,  "  involving  neither  honor  nor  vital  interests,  but  aris- 
ing  from  a  difference  of  opinion  on  points  of  fact,"  but  upon 
which  the  parties  are  unable  to  agree,  they  shall  as  far  as 
possible,  leave  the  facts  in  dispute  to  an  International  Com- 
mission of  Inquiry  selected  from  a  Permanent  International 
Court  of  Arbitration. 

Third,  A  Permanent  International  Court  of  Arbitration, 
composed  of  not  more  than  four  persons  "  of  known  com- 
petency on  questions  of  international  law,  and  of  the  high- 
est moral  reputation,"  appointed  for  a  term  of  six  years 
each,  by  each  of  the  governments  ratifying  the  treaty,  is 
established  with  permanent  headquarters  at  The  Hague. 
Powers  in  dispute  may  choose  arbiters  from  the  members 
of  this  court.  In  the  absence  of  an  agreement,  such 
tribunal  of  arbitration  is  to  consist  of  five  arbiters,  of 
whom  each  of  the  disputing  states  shall  name  two.  The 
four  so  named  are  to  choose  a  fifth ;  but  in  case  of  a  tie  the 
fifth  arbiter  is  to  be  chosen  by  a  power  agreed  upon,  or  by 
two  powers  severally  designated  by  the  disputing  states. 
This  tribunal  is  to  have  its  ordinary  seat  at  The  Hague,  and 
its  award  or  decision  is  to  be  morally  binding  upon  the 
parties  submitting  to  its  arbitration.  The  Permanent  Inter- 
national Court  of  Arbitration  is  also  to  be  open  to  the  set- 
tlement of  disputes  between  nations  not  parties  to  The 
Hague  conference,  if  these  nations  wish  to  accept  its 
services. 


31 6  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS. 

The  Hague  Conference  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine.^ — 
A  special  proviso  accompanying  the  signatures  of  the 
American  delegates  to  the  treaty  adopted  by  The  Hague 
conference  reads : 

"  Nothing  contained  in  this  convention  shall  be  so  construed  as  to 
require  the  United  States  of  America  to  depart  from  its  traditional 
policy  of  not  intruding  upon,  interfering  with,  or  entangling  itself  in  the 
political  questions  or  internal  administration  of  any  foreign  state ;  nor 
shall  anything  contained  in  the  said  cpnvention  be  so  construed  as  to 
require  the  relinquishment  by  the  United  States  of  America  of  its  tradi- 
tional attitude  towards  purely  American  questions." 

Recognition  of  Belligerency  in  Case  of  Rebellion. — War 
sometimes  arises  between  a  government  and  some  portion 
of  its  own  subjects.  This  is  known  as  rebellion  or  revolu- 
tion. In  such  cases  difficult  questions  often  arise  as  to  the 
rights  and  duties  of  neutrals  towards  the  fighting  parties ;  but 
it  is  a  general  rule  of  international  law  that  every  de  facto 
government,  that  is  every  existing  government,  is  sacred 
from  arbitrary  interference  by  outside  powers.  Circum- 
stances sometimes  arise,  however,  owing  to  the  weakness 
or  inability  of  the  de  facto  government  to  put  down  the  re- 
bellion, or  owing  to  the  establishment  of  an  independent 
government  by  the  rebellious  subjects,  when  the  so-called 

1  The  Monroe  Doctrine  was  set  forth  by  President  Monroe  (1823)  in  a 
message  to  Congress,  at  a  time  when  certain  European  monarchs  were  pro- 
posing to  help  Spain  reconquer  the  newly  formed  Spanish-American  republics 
in  South  America.  He  asserted  that,  while  the  United  States  intended  to 
take  no  part  in  the  affairs  of  European  states,  we  should  look  upon  "  any 
attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their  system  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere, 
as  dangerous  to  our  peace  and  safety  ";  and  that  an  attempt  to  reconquer  the 
South  American  republics  would  be  regarded  by  us  "  as  the  manifestation  of 
an  unfriendly  disposition  towards  the  United  States."  The  United  States 
applied  the  Monroe  Doctrine  to  drive  an  attempted  French  monarchy  out  of 
Mexico  in  1865,  and  to  force  Great  Britain  to  arbitrate  a  boundary  dispute 
with  Venezuela  in  1895. 


THE    UNITED  STATES  AND    OTHER  NATIONS.  317 

rebel  government  may  be  recognized  as  a  belligerent  by 
outside  powers,  and  accorded  all  the  rights  of  belligerency. 

Governments  on  an  Equality  under  International  Law. 
— We  have  seen  that  every  ^6' /rt-r/^?  government  is  accorded 
equal  rights  under  the  rules  of  international  law.  This  is 
true,  whatever  the  form  or  origin  of  the  government.  Thus 
a  despotic  government,  like  Morocco  or  Siam,  stands  upon 
an  equality  with  liberal  governments  like  the  United  States 
and  France.  So  the  fitful  revolutionary  governments  of 
some  of  the  Spanish  American  republics  must,  while  they 
exist,  be  treated  on  equal  terms  with  the  most  stable  gov- 
ernment of  the  great  powers;  and  this  brings  us  to  a  brief 
consideration  of  existing  forms  of  leading  governments. 

The  Monarchy — One  of  the  oldest  known  existing  forms 
of  government  is  the  monarchy.  The  word  is  derived  from 
the  Greek  words — monoSj  meaning  sole  or  only,  and  archein, 
meaning  to  rule.  In  a  monarchy,  a  great  part  of  the  power 
of  government  is  usually  centered  in  a  single  person — the 
monarch — who  is  called  variously — king,  queen,  sultan,  czar, 
etc.  The  monarch  usually  inherits  his  office,  although  he 
is  sometimes  elected;  and  he  holds  the  office  for  life,  unless 
he  voluntarily  abdicate,  or  be  deposed.  Monarchies  are  ab- 
solute and  limited.  In  an  absolute  monarchy,  or  despotism, 
the  monarch  possesses  supreme  power  and  authority  in  the 
government.  The  only  really  absolute  monarchies  still  ex- 
isting are  found  among  obscure  peoples  in  Africa  and 
Asia.  In  a  limited  monarchy  the  power  of  a  monarch  is 
limited  by  a  legislature  representing  the  people,  and  by  a 
constitution,  written  or  unwritten.  Great  Britain  and  Ger- 
many are  conspicuous  examples  of  limited  monarchy.  In 
the  latter  country  the  emperor  must  secure  a  majority  of  the 
legislators  in  the  Reichstag,  or  national  legislature,  in  order 


3i8  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS. 

to  pass  a  law ;  while  in  Great  Britain  the  monarch  has  be- 
come  little  more  than  a  figurehead,  the  British  parliament 
being  the  supreme  law-making  'power,  and  its  laws  being 
carried  out  by  an  executive  department,  headed  by  a  cab- 
inet composed  of  members  of  parliament. 

The  Aristocracy. — In  former  times,  there  existed  certain 
forms  of  government,  in  which  the  supreme  power  rested 
in  the  hands  of  a  comparatively  small  body  of  citizens. 
These  citizens  held  their  positions  because  of  noble  birth  or 
great  wealth.  Such  a  form  of  government  is  called  aT»  aris- 
tocracy, from  the  Greek  words,  aristoSy  meaning  best,  and 
kratos,  meaning  strength.  The  government  of  Great  Britain 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  might  be  termed 
an  aristocracy,  for  the  entire  administration  rested  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  in  the  Crown.  One  branch  of  the 
legislative  body  in  nearly  all  European  monarchies,  is  com- 
posed principally  of  men  inheriting  their  offices  because  of 
noble  birth,  thus  bringing  the  aristocratic  element  promi- 
nently into  these  governments. 

The  Democracy. — Democracy,  from  the  Greek  word 
demos,  meaning  the  people,  and  kratos,  strength,  is  a  form 
of  government  in  which  the  great  mass  of  the  people  have 
a  voice.  In  ancient  times,  certain  small  states  were  almost 
pure  democracies.  Thus,  in  ancient  Athens,  every  citizen 
had  a  right  to  appear  and  vote  in  the  popular  assembly  that 
ruled  the  state.  We  have  seen  that  the  local  government 
of  a  modern  New  York  town  meeting,  in  which  every  voter 
has  a  right  to  speak  and  vote,  is  an  example  of  almost 
purely  democratic  government.  In  some  cantons  of  Swit- 
zerland, local  government  at  the  present  time  is  carried  on 
in  a  popular  democratic  assembly,  attended  by  all  the  voters 
of  the  canton. 


THE    UNITED   STATES  AND   OTHER  NATIONS,        319 

The  Republic. — A  republic  is  a  form  of  democracy,  in 
which  the  mass  of  the  people  choose  representatives  to 
make  and  enforce  the  laws.  Such  is  the  form  of  government 
in  the  United  States.  What  chiefly  distinguishes  the  repub- 
lie  from  the  limited  monarchy,  with  its  elective  monarch,  is 
the  fact  that  in  the  republic,  the  legislative  and  executive 
officers  are  chosen  for  short  periods,  and  that  as  a  rule  all 
male  citizens  have  a  right  to  help  elect  them  ;  while  in  the 
limited  monarchy,  the  monarch  is  chosen  for  life,  and  though 
some  of  the  legislators  may  be  chosen  by  the  people  for 
short  periods,  many  of  them  inherit  their  offices  and  hold 
them  for  life. 

Advantages  of  the  Republican  Form  of  Government. — 
The  form  of  government  known  as  the  democratic  republic, 
with  its  written  constitution,  gives  to  the  mass  of  the  people 
living  under  it  a  greater  degree  of  freedom,  and  at  the  same 
time,  more  stability  of  institutions,  than  either  the  monarchy 
or  the  pure  democracy.*  The  monarchy,  with  vast  powers 
centered  in  a  single  individual,  is  peculiarly  strong  as  an  ex- 
ecutive government ;  and  because  of  this,  its  powers  are 
often  used  so  as  to  result  disastrously  to  the  freedom  of  its 
subjects.  A  pure  democracy,  on  the  other  hand,  unre- 
strained by  a  stable  constitution,  is  likely  to  suffer  from  ill- 
advised  and  easily  effected  changes. 

Great  Britain  (p.  318),  however,  has  a  government  that 
is  unusually  efficient  and  unusually  responsive  to  the  will 
of  the  people.  It  is  practically  a  republic,  though  formally 
classed  with  limited  monarchies.  Its  cabinet  is  chosen 
from  the  party  that  has  a  majority  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  may  be  deposed  at  any  time  by  that  house, 
so  that  the  executive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  govern- 

^  See  Chapter  III.,  page  29,  "  Importance  of  Local  Government." 


320  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS, 

ment  are  always  in  harmony.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
cabinet  may  at  any  time  dissolve  the  House  of  Commons 
and  call  for  a  new  election,  thus  ascertaining  the  will  of 
the  people  on  any  question  in  dispute. 

Kinds  of  Republics. — The  United  States  is  a  federal 
republic ;  that  is,  only  part  of  the  powers  of  government 
are  exercised  by  the  nation  as  a  whole,  the  remainder 
being  exercised  by  the  several  States  of  which  the  nation 
is  composed.  The  local  self-government  which  is  thus 
made  possible,  is  as  desirable  as  the  power  and  unity 
wielded  by  the  general  government  in  larger  affairs. 
Switzerland  and  Mexico  are  other  examples  of  federal 
republics.  If  the  central  government  is  made  very  weak, 
so  that  the  country  is  a  league  or  partnership  of  practically 
independent  states,  the  union  is  called  a  confederation. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  centralized  republic,  like  France,  is 
one  in  which  all  the  powers  are  exercised  by  the  central 
government,  local  self-government  being  suppressed. 

Origin  of  Governments. — From  our  study  of  the  local. 
State,  and  National  governments  we  see  that  govern- 
mental institutions  are  a  growth,  with  roots  running  hun- 
dreds of  years  back  into  the  Hfe  history  of  the  people. 
Governments  may  not  be  put  on  and  off  like  a  coat  or 
cloak.  They  grow  with  the  growth  of  the  state.  A  wise 
and  just  people  will  develop  a  just  and  rational  form  of  gov- 
ernment, just  as  an  unwise,  weak  and  immoral  people  is 
likely  to  suffer  from  an  unjust  and  unwise  form  of  govern- 
ment. 

SUMMARY. 

The  customs,  rules  and  agreements,  regulating  the  inter- 
course of  civilized  nations  with  one  another,  are  known  as 


THE    UNITED  STATES  AND    OTHER  NATIONS.       321 

international  law.  The  obligations  of  international  law  are 
voluntarily  assumed,  and  cannot  be  enforced  by  one  nation 
as  against  another,  except  by  act  of  war,  or  by  voluntary 
submission  to  the  decision  of  a  court  of  arbitration. 

Official  intercourse  between  nations  is  conducted  by  am- 
bassadors, ministers,  and  consuls,  and  is  usually  regulated 
by  agreements,  called  treaties. 

Nations  at  war  with  each  other  are  known  as  belligerents. 
Other  nations  are  known  as  neutrals.  Under  the  rules  of 
international  law,  the  government  of  a  neutral  nation  has  no 
right  to  aid  or  hinder  a  belligerent  in  prosecuting  any  war. 

Property  belonging  to  the  subjects  of  neutral  nations, 
that  is  consigned  to  a  belligerent  for  use  in  prosecuting-  the 
war,  is  known  as  contraband  of  war ;  and  it  may  be  seized 
and  confiscated  when  in  transportation  on  the  high  seas,  by 
the  opposing  belligerent.  Belligerents  have  a  right  to 
search  neutral  vessels  for  contraband  of  war ;  and  a  vessel 
refusing  to  allow  such  search,  may  be  captured  by  the  bel- 
ligerent as  a  prize  of  war. 

All  actual  governments,  whatever  their  origin,  form  or 
strength,  stand  on  an  equality  under  the  rules  of  interna- 
tional law ;  and  no  nation  has  a  right,  without  just  cause, 
to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  another  nation. 

Most  modern  civilized  governments  may  be  classified  as 
monarchies,  absolute  and  limited,  or  as  republics.  Under 
an  absolute  monarchy  the  individual  citizen  has  least  power 
in  the  affairs  of  government ;  under  a  republic,  greatest 
power. 

SUGGESTIVE   QUESTIONS. 

Define  international  law.  How  does  it  differ  from  State 
and  national  law  1     How  is  it  enforced  t 


322  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS, 

Describe  the  difference  between  the  powers  and  duties  of 
ambassadors  and  ministers,  and  the  powers  and  duties  of 
consuls. 

What  is  extradition?  What  class  of  offenders  is  not 
usually  subject  to  extradition  ? 

Define  belligerent,  neutral,  combatant,  noncombatant, 
declaration  of  war,  prize  of  war. 

What  is  the  duty  of  a  neutral  government  in  time  of 
war  ? 

What  is  contraband  of  war  ? 

Describe  the  right  of  search  that  may  be  exercised  by  a 
belligerent. 

What  is  a  blockade  ?  What  facts  are  necessary  to  render 
a  blockade  lawful,  as  against  the  ships  of  neutral  nations  ? 
What  is  a  privateer  ?     How  are  privateers  commissioned  ? 

What  general  rule  of  international  law  applies  equally  to 
every  de  facto  government  ? 

Define  absolute  monarchy,  limited  monarchy,  aristocracy, 
democracy,  democratic  republic.  What  advantages  has  a 
constitutional  republic  over  a  monarchy?  Over  a  pure 
democracy  ? 

ADDITIONAL  READING. 

On  the  general  subject  of  international  law,  read  Woolsey's  Intro- 
duction to  the  Study  of  International  Law,  the  introductory  chapter  ; 
also  Part  I.,  Chapter  I.,  "  The  Rights  of  States  as  Independent  Sover- 
eignties." On  the  rights  and  duties  of  Belligerents  and  Neutrals,  see 
the  same  work,  Part  II.,  Chapter  II.,  "The  Relations  Between  Bel- 
ligerents and  Neutrals. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
Personal  and  Property  Relations. 

In  our  study  of  the  State,  we  learned  that  the  great  body 
of  laws  regulating  social  and  business  relations,  are  State 
laws.^  We  saw  that  most  ordinary  crimes  are  defined  and 
punished  by  the  State ;  that  the  State  guarantees  to  its  citi- 
zens  the  enjoyment  of  the  civil  rights  of  personal  security, 
personal  liberty,  and  private  property ;  ^  and  that  it  defines 
the  legal  rights  and  duties  of  husband  and  wife,  parent  and 
child,  employer  and  employee.  In  the  same  way  the  State 
defines  the  rights  and  obligations  of  persons  who  enter  into 
ordinary  business  agreements,  known  as  contracts;  lays 
down  the  law  regulating  the  purchase,  sale,  or  rent  of 
houses  and  lands  ;  and  the  law  governing  the  distribution  of 
property  left  by  persons  deceased. 

Let  us  examine  in  detail  some  of  the  laws  regulating 
these  personal  and  property  relations  in  New  York  State. 

Sources  of  State  Law.— We  have  learned  that  the  great 
body  of  State  law  consists  of  provisions  laid  down  by  the 
people  in  the  constitution,  and  of  statutes  enacted  by  the 
legislature.  But  there  is  still  another  source  of  State  law. 
In  our  study  of  personal  rights,  we  remember  a  clause  in 
the  constitution  of  the  State,  which  declared  all  parts  of  the 
common  law  of  England,  not  repugnant  to  the  constitution, 

»  Chapter  VIII.,  «  The  State."     See  also  «  Powers  of  the  Several  States," 
Chapter  XXII. 

«  Chapter  XI.,  «  Personal  Rights." 

323 


324  BUSINESS  AND   SOCIAL   LAW. 

and  in  force  in  the  State  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, to  be  a  part  of  our  State  law.^  The  common  law  of 
England  consists  of  a  great  body  of  customs,  rules  and 
maxims,  common  to  the  people  of  England,  that  through 
long  usage  and  the  favorable  decisions  of  the  courts,  have 
acquired  the  force  of  binding  law.  This  English  common 
law  was  brought  to  America  by  the  early  colonists,  and  ex- 
cept where  changed  by  constitutions  or  statutes,  it  is  still 
the  basis  of  law  throughout  the  Union.^  But  written  laws 
are  more  accessible,  usually  more  definite,  and  therefore 
easier  of  interpretation  than  the  unwritten  common  law 
found  in  customs  and  court  decisions. 

Contracts. — Most  of  our  ordinary  personal  and  property 
relations  are  regulated  by  contract.  A  contract  is  a  volun- 
tary agreement,  in  which  two  or  more  persons  promise  to 
do  or  not  to  do  a  specified  thing.  Any  person,  not  debarred 
by  law,  may  become  a  party  to  a  contract.  A  person  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age  may  not,  as  a  rule,  enter  into  any 
contract,  except  for  the  actual  necessaries  of  life. 

Express  and  Implied  Contracts. — Contracts  are  express 
and  implied.  An  express  contract  is  one  in  which  the  mu- 
tual  promises  of  the  contracting  parties  are  expressed  in 
words,  oral  or  written.  An  implied  contract  is  one  in 
which,  from  the  acts  or  circumstances  of  the  parties,  the  law 
presumes  that  mutual  promises  have  been  made. 

When  Contracts  are  not  Binding. — Contracts  are  not 
binding  when  one  of  the  parties  is  by  law  incapable  of  mak- 
ing a  contract ;  when  the  agreement  of  one  or  both  is  pro- 
cured by  force  or  fraud  ;  when  a  thing  is  agreed  to  which  in 

»  See  page  131,  Chapter  XI.,  ««  Personal  Rights." 

•  Except  in  Louisiana,  where  the  Roman  or  civil  law  is  the  basis  of  State 
law. 


PERSONAL   AND  PROPERTY  RELATIONS,  325 

its  nature  is  impossible  to  perform ;  or  when  the  thing 
agreed  to  be  performed  is  prohibited  by  law.  A  person 
failing  to  fulfil  a  contract  lawfully  made  by  him  may  be 
sued  in  a  court  at  law  and  a  judgment  obtained  against  him 
for  money  equal  to  the  loss  sustained  by  reason  of  his  fail- 
ure to  perform  the  contract ;  or  the  court  may  compel  him 
to  keep  his  agreement.  Under  a  State  law  known  as  the 
statute  of  limitations,  certain  contracts  may  not  be  legally 
enforced,  unless  an  effort  is  made  to  enforce  them  within  a 
time  specified  by  the  law. 

Contracts  to  Sell  or  Exchange. — A  contract  to  sell  is 
one  whereby  the  owner  of  some  thing  agrees  to  part  with  his 
ownership  for  a  price  or  other  valuable  consideration,  to  be 
given  by  the  person  who  agrees  to  buy.  One  article  may 
also  be  exchanged  for  another  by  contract.  Such  an  ex- 
change is  called  barter.  In  order  to  complete  or  fulfil  the 
contract,  the  thing  sold  must  be  delivered  or  given  up  to  the 
person  buying  it,  who  must  in  turn  pay  the  price  agreed 
upon. 

Unless  there  be  an  agreement  to  the  contrary,  the  seller 
of  goods  has  a  legal  right  to  retain  possession  of  them  until 
he  receives  the  price.  Such  a  right  to  hold  the  property 
sold  is  called  a  lien ;  but  the  seller  usually  loses  his  lien 
when  he  parts  with  the  property  sold. 

Contracts  to  Let  or  Lease. — In  a  contract  to  let  or  lease, 
the  owner  of  certain  property  agrees,  for  a  valuable  consid- 
eration, to  part  with  the  use  of  it,  for  a  specified  time,  to  the 
person  leasing  it.  There  is  always  an  implied,  if  not  an 
express  contract,  on  the  part  of  the  person  leasing  property, 
that  he  will  deliver  it  up  to  the  owner  at  the  time  of  the  ex- 
piration of  the  lease,  in  as  good  a  condition  as  he  received 
it,  reasonable  wear  and  tear  excepted. 


326  BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL  LAW, 

Contracts  for  Transportation.— Railroad  and  steamship 
companies,  and  expressmen  who  make  a  business  of  trans- 
porting persons  and  goods  from  place  to  place  for  money, 
are  known  in  law  as  common  carriers.  A  common  carrier 
is  bound,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  to  receive  and  carry 
all  goods  offered  to  him  for  transportation,  as  well  as  all 
persons,  on  payment  of  his  regular  charges  for  such  work. 
The  common  carrier  enters  into  an  implied  contract  to  carry 
the  persons  or  goods  safely  to  their  destination ;  and  he  is 
responsible  for  any  damage  to  goods  intended  for  trans- 
portation, while  in  his  possession,  and  also  for  injuries 
that  occur  to  persons  while  in  transportation,  unless  the 
injuries  be  caused  by  unavoidable  accident,  not  due  to  lack 
of  care  or  skill  on  the  part  of  the  carrier. 

Contracts  for  Insurance. — Persons  owning  destructible 
property  are  accustomed  to  insure  themselves  against  its 
possible  loss  by  taking  out  a  policy  of  insurance  on  the 
property.  This  is  a  contract  between  the  person  insuring 
against  loss  and  the  person  who  is  insured.  Under  it  the 
person  insured  pays  to  the  person  who  insures  a  small  per- 
centage of  the  value  of  the  property  insured;  and  the 
insurer  agrees  in  return  to  make  good  any  damage  to  the 
property  that  may  occur  within  a  specified  time.  In- 
surance is  of  four  kinds — fire,  marine,  life  and  accident. 
Under  a  contract  of  fire  insurance,  the  insurer  agrees  to 
indemnify  the  owner  of  property  from  losses  by  fire ;  and 
under  a  contract  of  marine  insurance,  from  losses  arising 
while  at  sea ;  while  under  a  contract  of  life  insurance,  the 
person  who  insures  agrees  to  pay  a  certain  sum  on  the  death 
of  the  person  insured.  By  some  life  insurance  contracts, 
known  as  endowment  policies,  the  insurer  also  agrees  to  pay 
a  sum  of  money  to  the  person  insured,  if  the  latter  be  living 


PERSONAL   AND  PROPERTY  RELATIONS.  327 

at  the  expiration  of  a  certain  number  of  years.  In  a  con- 
tract for  accident  insurance,  the  insurer  agrees  to  pay  for 
damages  that  may  result  from  accident  to  the  person 
insured.  The  contract  of  insurance  is  usually  written,  as 
before  stated,  in  the  form  of  a  policy  issued  by  the  insurer  ; 
and  the  insured  person  usually  makes  a  regular  annual  pay- 
ment, called  a  premium,  for  his  insurance. 

Principal  and  Agent. — A  person  who  buys  or  sells  for 
another,  or  does  business  for  him  with  third  persons,  is 
called  an  agent ;  and  the  person  for  whom  the  agent  acts  is 
known  as  the  principal.  In  a  contract  of  agency  the  princi- 
pal appoints  the  agent  and  agrees  to  pay  him  in  return  for 
the  services  which  the  agent  agrees  to  perform.  It  is  a 
general  rule  of  law  that  a  principal  is  bound  by  the  acts  of 
his  agent,  if  performed  in  the  conduct  of  the  business 
entrusted  to  him.  An  agent  must  follow  the  instructions  of 
his  principal.  If  he  does  not,  he  is  generally  responsible 
for  any  injuries  to  third  persons  that  may  arise  from  his  acts 
while  conducting  the  business  of  his  principal. 

Employer  and  Employee. — Contracts  between  employer 
and  employee  are  generally  quite  similar  to  contracts  be- 
tween principal  and  agent.  The  employer  has  a  legal  right 
to  the  obedience  of  his  employee  in  all  matters  within  the 
scope  of  the  employment.  On  the  other  hand,  an  employee 
is  entitled  to  work  for  his  employer,  and  to  receive  his 
wages  during  the  time  it  was  agreed  he  should  work ;  and 
the  employee  may  collect  wages  from  an  employer  who 
discharges  him  without  just  cause  before  the  expiration  of 
the  time  for  which  he  is  hired. 

Partnership. — A  partnership  is  a  contract  by  which  two 
or  more  persons  agree  to  unite  their  money  and  labor  in 
business,  and  to  share  the  profits  and  divide  the  losses. 


328  BUSINESS  AND   SOCIAL   LAW. 

Each  partner  on  entering  the  partnership  acquires  an  interest 
in  all  the  partnership  property ;  and  the  acts  of  one  partner 
in  connection  with  the  partnership  business  bind  all  the 
partners.  Each  partner  is  also  generally  responsible  for  all 
the  partnership  debts  and  obligations.  A  limited  partner- 
ship is  one  in  which  certain  partners  are  responsible  only 
for  limited  amounts  of  the  partnership  obligations. 

Joint  Stock  Companies  and  Mutual  Aid  Associations. — 
Somewhat  similar  to  the  contract  of  partnership  is  the  con- 
tract between  the  members  of  a  joint  stock  company,  or  the 
members  of  a  mutual  aid  association ;  and  between  such 
associations  or  companies  and  the  public.  Such  com- 
panies and  associations  are  corporations  formed  under  the 
laws  of  the  state,  and  have  the  right  to  do  business  as  a 
single  person  under  the  company  name.  As  a  rule  each 
member  is  responsible  for.  the  debts  of  his  company  or 
association  to  the  amount  of  his  individual  share  or  interest. 

The  Contract  of  Marriage. — The  law  regards  marriage 
as  a  civil  contract,  in  which  the  husband  agrees  to  love, 
protect,  and  support  his  wife,  in  return  for  services  and 
affection  rendered  by  her  to  him.  The  law  of  New  York, 
inherited  from  the  common  law,  requires  no  particular 
form  of  ceremony  to  make  the  marriage  contract  binding ; 
and  the  contract  can  be  dissolved  only  by  death,  or  by  one 
of  the  parties  obtaining  a  divorce,  according  to  the  rules 
prescribed  by  law.  The  law  of  New  York  allows  a  married 
woman  to  own  and  dispose  of  her  individual  property.  On 
the  death  of  the  husband,  the  wife  has  the  use  during  her 
life  of  a  one-third  interest  in  his  real  estate.  This  is  called 
the  wife's  dower  interest.  When  a  husband  sells  real  estate, 
his  wife  must  unite  with  him  in  signing  the  deed,  otherwise 
she  retains  her  right  of  dower  in  the  property  sold. 


PERSONAL  AND   PROPERTY  RELATIONS.  329 

Parents  and  Children. — Parents  must  care  for  and  sup- 
port their  children  until  the  latter  are  twenty-one  years  old. 
If  a  parent  neglects  or  refuses  to  supply  his  child  with 
necessaries,  a  third  person  may  supply  him  and  charge 
the  parent.  Children  owe  their  parents  obedience  and 
service.  What  a  minor  child  earns  belongs  to  the  parent, 
unless  the  latter  voluntarily  relinquish  the  right  to  it.  A 
parent  is  entitled  to  the  custody  of  his  minor  children,  and 
may  enforce  their  obedience  by  any  reasonable  exercise  of 
force. 

Guardian  and  Ward. — When  a  minor  child  owns  property, 
a  guardian  is  appointed  to  care  for  the  property.  If  the 
parents  be  living,  one  of  them  is  usually  made  guardian.  A 
child  having  a  guardian  is  known  as  a  ward.  The  guardian 
is  entitled  to  the  obedience  of  the  ward,  but  not  to  his 
services,  and  the  guardian  must  maintain  and  educate  the 
ward  out  of  the  latter's  property.  It  is  the  guardian's  duty 
to  manage  the  property  of  the  ward  with  reasonable  skill 
and  diligence,  and  to  turn  it  over  to  the  ward  when  he 
becomes  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Guardians  are  appointed 
in  this  State  by  the  surrogate's  court. 

Contracts  Relating  to  Real  Estate — Conveyance  by 
Deed. — Property  is  divided  into  real  estate  and  personal 
property.  The  latter  is  movable  property,  while  real  estate 
consists  of  houses,  lands,  and  their  so-called  appurtenances. 
Personal  property  may  be  sold  without  a  written  contract, 
but  real  estate  may  be  sold  and  conveyed  only  by  written 
contract  called  a  deed.  The  person  who  sells  and  conveys 
real  estate  is  called  the  grantor,  and  the  person  who  buys 
it  the  grantee.  The  deed  must  be  signed  and  sealed  by  the 
grantor,  who  must  acknowledge  his  signature  before  a  notary 
public,  or  other  officer  authorized  to  take  such  an  acknowl- 


330  BUSINESS  AND   SOCIAL   LA  IV. 

edgment.  The  deed  is  then  deHvered  by  the  grantor  to  the 
grantee,  which  act  usually  completes  the  transfer  of  the 
property.  The  laws  of  New  York  require  a  deed  to  be 
recorded,  usually  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk.  This  is 
to  protect  innocent  third  persons,  who  might  be  induced  to 
buy  the  property  already  conveyed  by  a  dishonest  grantor. 
It  also  protects  the  grantee  from  claims  against  the  property 
by  the  creditors  of  the  grantor.  The  recording  of  a  deed  is 
not  necessary  as  between  grantor  and  grantee.  A  warranty 
deed  is  one  in  which  the  grantor  agrees  to  warrant  and 
defend  the  title  conveyed  to  the  grantee  against  the  claims 
of  third  parties. 

Conveyance  of  Property  by  Mortgage. — Property  is 
sometimes  transferred  or  conveyed  from  one  person  to 
another  as  security  for  the  payment  of  a  debt.  Such  a 
transfer  is  made  by  written  grant  called  a  mortgage,  which 
if  conveying  real  estate,  is  signed,  sealed,  delivered  and 
recorded,  like  a  deed.  The  grant  by  mortgage  is  for  a 
limited  time,  and  the  property  thus  granted  is  said  to  be 
mortgaged.  It  remains  in  the  possession  of  the  grantor,  on 
the  understanding  that  the  legal  title  to  it  is  to  be  trans- 
ferred back  to  him  on  his  paying  his  debt  when  due.  The 
person  conveying  property  by  mortgage  is  called  the  mort- 
gagor ;  the  person  to  whom  it  is  conveyed  the  mortgagee. 
If  the  mortgagor  pays  his  debt  at  the  time  of  the  expiration 
of  the  grant  by  mortgage,  the  mortgagee  gives  him  a 
written  satisfaction  of  mortgage.  This  cancels  the  debt,  and 
reconveys  to  the  mortgagor  the  legal  title  to  his  property. 
Like  the  mortgage,  the  satisfaction  should  be  recorded. 
Should  the  mortgagor,  however,  fail  to  pay  his  debt  when 
due,  the  mortgagee  may  begin  legal  proceedings  known  as 
foreclosure  of  the  mortgage.     Under  these  proceedings,  the 


PERSONAL   AND   PROPERTY  RELATIONS.  331 

mortgagee  having  proven  his  claim  against  the  mortgagor, 
the  court  orders  the  sheriff  to  sell  the  mortgaged  property, 
and  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  to  pay  the  debt  due  to  the 
mortgagee.  Should  any  money  remain  after  paying  the  debt 
and  the  costs  of  the  foreclosure,  it  goes  to  the  mortgagor. 
Both  real  and  personal  property  may  be  conveyed  by 
mortgage.  A  mortgage  given  on  personal  property  is 
called  a  chattel  mortgage.  Such  a  mortgage  is  filed  gen- 
erally with  the  town  clerk,  and  in  this  State  it  may  not  be 
given  for  a  longer  period  than  one  year. 

Conveyance  by  Lease. — When  real  estate  is  leased  for  a 
longer  period  than  a  year,  the  law  requires  it  to  be  done  by 
written  contract,  known  as  a  lease.  The  lease  is  given  by 
the  owner  of  the  property  leased  to  the  person  who  leases 
it,  and  like  a  deed  or  mortgage,  the  lease  must  be  signed 
and  delivered,  but  it  need  not  be  sealed.  The  owner  of 
property  leased  is  called  the  landlord  or  lessor;  and  the 
person  to  whom  it  is  leased,  the  tenant  or  lessee.  By  the 
lease  the  landlord  grants  to  the  tenant  the  use  of  the  leased 
property,  in  return  for  rent  which  the  tenant  agrees  to  pay. 
Should  a  tenant  fail  to  pay  his  rent  as  agreed  in  the  lease,  or 
should  he  willfully  injure  the  property  leased,  the  landlord 
may  obtain  possession  of  it  by  legal  proceedings  known  as 
eviction. 

Appurtenances. — The  ownership  of  real  estate  includes 
what  is  known  as  its  appurtenances.  These  are  minor 
rights,  such,  for  example,  as  the  right  of  a  land  owner  to  use 
a  stream  of  water  flowing  across  his  land.  Appurtenances 
may  be  acquired  in  two  ways — by  deed,  or  by  long  and  un- 
interrupted  use.  Thus  a  right  of  way  across  land  belonging 
to  another  may  be  granted  by  deed,  or  it  may  be  legally 
acquired  by  twenty  years  of  uninterrupted  use.     A  transfer 


332  BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL   LA  IV, 

of  land  by  deed,  or  otherwise,  includes  a  transfer  of  all  its 
appurtenances  without  formal  or  specific  enumeration. 

Conveyance  by  Will. — As  a  general  rule,  any  person 
owning  property  has  a  right  to  say  how  it  shall  be  disposed 
of  after  his  death.  This  is  done  by  the  property- owner 
making  a  written  instrument,  called  a  will.  Real  estate,  as 
well  as  personal  property,  may  thus  be  conveyed  from  one 
person  to  another  by  will.  In  order  that  a  will  may  be 
valid,  it  must  be  made  by  a  person  of  sound  mind  and  un- 
derstanding, who  in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  must 
sign  it,  and  declare  it  to  be  his  last  will  and  testament.  The 
witnesses  must  then  sign  as  witnesses.  The  person  who 
makes  the  will  is  called  the  testator,  and  a  gift  made  by  will 
is  called  a  bequest.  A  person  dying  without  having  made 
a  will  is  said  to  be  intestate.  A  will  once  made,  may  be 
revoked  at  any  time  before  death,  by  the  testator  making 
another  and  later  will,  or  it  may  be  destroyed.  An  addition 
to  a  will  may  be  made  by  the  testator  in  the  same  manner 
and  with  the  same  formaHty  as  the  original  will.  Such  an 
addition  is  called  a  codicil.  Wills  that  convey  real  estate 
are  recorded  like  mortgages  and  deeds,  and  for  similar 
reasons.  As  a  husband  cannot  deed  away  his  wife's  dower 
interest,  so  he  cannot  convey  it  by  will.  The  property  of  a 
person  who  dies  without  leaving  a  will  is  distributed  to  his 
lawful  heirs  by  proceedings  in  the  surrogate's  court,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  State  law. 

Estates. — Any  interest  which  a  person  possesses  in  prop- 
erty is  known  as  an  estate.  The  law  distinguishes  between 
the  property  itself,  and  the  interest  which  the  owner  has  in 
it,  which  is  the  estate.  An  estate,  to  be  complete,  must 
consist  of  the  right  of  property,  the  right  of  possession,  and 
the    actual    possession.     The   largest   possible    interest   or 


PERSONAL  AND   PROPERTY  RELATIONS.  333 

estate  which  a  person  may  have  in  real  estate,  is  known  as 
a  fee  simple.  A  person  owning  land  in  fee  simple  may- 
hold  it  during  his  life  and  dispose  of  it  after  his  death.  An 
estate  for  life  is  an  interest  that  ends  with  the  death  of  the 
person  possessing  it.  An  estate  for  years  is  an  interest  for  a 
certain  definite  time  only.  An  estate  by  courtesy  is  the  life 
interest  which  a  husband  and  father  possesses  in  his  de- 
ceased wife's  real  estate.  An  estate  in  future  is  the  right  to 
the  future  possession  of  property. 

Promissory  Notes. — A  debtor  sometimes  gives  his 
creditor  a  written  evidence  of  his  debt  in  the  form  of  a 
promissory  note.  This  is  a  written  promise  to  pay  a 
definite  sum  of  money  at  a  future  date.  The  person  giving 
or  making  the  note  is  called  the  maker;  the  person  he 
promises  to  pay,  the  payee ;  the  amount  which  is  promised 
to  pay,  the  face  of  the  note.  In  a  promissory  note,  the 
maker  may  agree  to  pay  the  face  of  the  note  at  a  certain 
definite  date,  or  he  may  agree  to  pay  whenever  the  note  is 
presented  to  him  by  the  lawful  owner,  and  payment  de- 
manded. The  latter  form  is  called  a  note  payable  on  de- 
mand. A  note  may  be  made  with  or  without  containing  a 
promise  to  pay  interest.  When  the  note  contains  such  a 
promise,  interest  is  reckoned  from  the  date  of  the  note  un- 
til the  time  of  its  payment.  When  a  note  does  not  contain 
this  promise,  it  does  not  begin  to  draw  interest  until  after 
the  note  is  due.  A  promissory  note  is  negotiable,  that  is, 
transferable  from  one  owner  to  another,  when  it  is  drawn 
so  that  the  maker  promises  to  pay  the  face  of  the  note  to 
the  "  order  "  of  the  payee,  or  '*  to  bearer."  In  such  case,  the 
payee  may  sell  the  note  to  a  third  person.  When  the  payee 
sells  a  negotiable  note,  he  writes  his  name  across  the  back, 
as  an  indorser.     By  this  act,  he  becomes  responsible  for  its 


334  BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL   LAW, 

payment  to  any  other  person,  into  whose  hands  the  note 
may  lawfully  come.  The  payee  may  indorse  the  note  to  a 
particular  person,  who  is  then  known  as  the  indorsee ;  or  he 
may  indorse  it  in  blank.  The  former  is  called  a  specific  in- 
dorsement. In  such  case,  only  the  indorsee  may  collect  the 
note,  unless  he,  by  his  own  indorsement,  still  further  transfers 
it.  Each  and  every  indorser  of  a  note  is  responsible  for  its 
payment,  but  no  indorser  can,  as  a  rule,  be  held  responsible, 
unless  the  note  has  been  presented,  when  due,  to  the  maker, 
and  payment  refused  by  him ;  and  in  order  to  hold  an  in- 
dorser, he  must  be  promptly  notified  in  writing  of  the  failure 
of  the  maker  to  pay  the  note.  Making  such  notice  is  called 
"  protesting  the  note."  A  promissory  note  is  non-negotia- 
ble,  that  is,  not  transferable  from  one  owner  to  another, 
when  the  promise  is  to  pay  the  payee  only,  without  the 
words  "  or  order,"  •'  or  bearer."  No  note  is  collectible  till 
it  has  become  due. 

SUMMARY. 

Nearly  all  ordinary  personal  and  property  relations  are 
regulated  by  State  laws,  which  have  their  sources  in  the 
constitution,  adopted  by  the  people ;  the  statutes,  enacted 
by  the  legislature ;  or  in  the  common  law  of  England,  so 
far  as  it  is  applicable  to  existing  modern  conditions. 

Ordinary  personal  and  property  relations  are  usually 
regulated  by  contracts,  express  or  implied.  Among  these 
are  contracts  to  buy,  sell,  and  lease ;  contracts  for  transporta- 
tion;  contracts  for  insurance ;  contracts  resulting  from  the  re- 
lations between  principal  and  agent,  employer  and  employee ; 
contracts  arising  from  the  relations  between  parties  to  promis- 
sory notes  ;  contracts  arising  from  partnership,  marriage,  and 
the  relations  of  parent  and  child  and  guardian  and  ward. 


PERSONAL   AND   PROPERTY  RELATIONS.  335 

Real  estate  is  transferred  from  one  person  to  another  by 
contracts  known  as  deed,  mortgage,  and  lease.  Real  estate 
is  also  transferred  by  will. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS. 

What  is  meant  by  the  common  law?  How  does  it 
differ  from  statute  law  ?  Name  the  three  sources  of  State 
law. 

What  is  a  contract  ?  What  persons  may  enter  into  con- 
tracts? State  the  difference  between  an  express  and  an 
implied  contract.  Under  what  circumstances  is  a  contract 
not  binding  ? 

Describe  the  contract  known  as  a  lease.  What  implied 
obligation  does  a  lessee  take  upon  himself  with  reference  to 
the  lessor's  property  ? 

State  generally  the  obligations  of  a  common  carrier. 
What  is  the  contract  of  insurance  ?  Of  principal  and  agent  ? 
Employer  and  employee  ? 

What  is  partnership  ?  What  are  the  obligations  of  a 
partner  in  a  limited  partnership  ?  In  a  joint  stock  com- 
pany? 

What  is  the  right  of  dower  ?  Define  guardian,  ward,  real 
estate,  grantor,  grantee. 

Name  four  legal  requirements  of  a  deed.  How  and  why 
are  deeds  recorded  ?  What  is  a  mortgage  ?  What  is  meant 
by  foreclosure  of  a  mortgage  ?  Satisfaction  of  a  mortgage  ? 
Chattel  mortgage  ? 

What  are  appurtenances  ?  How  is  legal  title  to  appur- 
tenances acquired  ? 

What  is  a  will  ?  Describe  the  formalities  necessary  to 
the  making  of  a  will.     What  is  a  codicil  ?     How  may  a  will 


336  BUSINESS  AND  SOCIAL   LAW. 

be  revoked  ?  What  court  has  charge  of  distributing  the 
property  of  persons  leaving  wills,  and  of  intestates  ? 

What  is  an  estate  ?  A  fee  simple  ?  An  estate  for  life  ? 
An  estate  for  years  ? 

Define  promissory  note,  maker,  payee,  indorser,  indorse- 
ment in  blank.  When  is  a  note  negotiable?  What  is 
meant  by  protesting  a  note  ? 


APPENDIX 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA 


We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense, 
promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and 
our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of 
America. 

ARTICLE  I.  Section  i. — i.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives. 

Section  2. — i.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States  ;  and  the  electors 
in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  nu- 
merous branch  of  the  State  legislature. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and 
who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be 
chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective 
numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  per- 
sons, including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians 
not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be 
made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they 
shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for 
every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  Representative  ;  and 
until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  en- 
titled to  choose  three ;  Massachusetts,  eight ;  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  one;  Connecticut,  five;  New  York,  six;  New  Jersey,  four;  Penn- 
sylvania, eight ;  Delaware,  one  ;  Maryland,  six  ;  Virginia,  ten ;  North  Carohna, 
five;  South  Carolina,  five;  and  Georgia,  three, 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  fi-om  any  State,  the  executive 
authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

337 


338  APPENDIX 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and  other  offi- 
cers, and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  3.— i.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years ;  and 
each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the  first  elec- 
tion, they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be,  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of 
the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second 
year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third 
class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one  third  may  be  chosen  every 
second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen,  by  resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the 
recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary 
appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such 
vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of  the  Senate, 
but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  president  pro 
tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments.  When  sit- 
ting for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the  President 
of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside ;  and  no  person  shall 
be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  removal 
from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or 
profit,  under  the  United  States;  but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be 
liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  4. — i.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  legislature 
thereof;  but  the  Congress  may,  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regula- 
tions, except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such  meeting 
shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a 
different  day. 

Section  5. — i.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and 
may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members  in  such  manner 
and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its  members 
for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a  member. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES  339 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time 
publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy  ; 
and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  House,  on  any  question,  shall, 
at  the  desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal, 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the  consent 
of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that 
in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6. — i.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compensa- 
tion for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of 
the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their 
respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any 
speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was 
elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emolmments  whereof  shall  have  been  in- 
creased, during  such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

Section  7. — i.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on 
other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the 
Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States ;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it  with  his  objec- 
tions to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objec- 
tions" at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such 
reconsideration,  two  thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise 
be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a 
law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by 
yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  votmg  for  and  against  the  bill  shall 
be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be 
returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had 
signed  it,  unless  the  Congress',  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return,  in  which 
case  it  shall  not  be  a  law.  ^ 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  ad- 
journment) shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  before 
the  same  shall  take  effect  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or,  being  disapproved  by 
him,  shall  be  re-passed  by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives, according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section  8. — The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

I.  To  lay  aod  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and 


340  APPENDIX 

provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;  but 
all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States ; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  States, 
and  with  the  Indian  tribes; 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on  the 
subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States ; 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix 
the  standard  of  weights  and  measures ; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  current 
coin  of  the  United  States; 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads ; 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing  for 
limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective 
writings  and  discoveries  ; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas,  and 
offenses  against  the  law  of  nations ; 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules  con- 
cerning captures  on  land  and  water ; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use 
shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years ; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and  naval 
forces ; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union, 
suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions ; 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for 
governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of  the  officers  and 
the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by 
Congress ; 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever  over  such  district 
(not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  States  and  the 
acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of 
the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts, 
magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  buildings ;  and, 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution 
in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

Section  9. — i.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the 
Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES  341 

duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each 
person. 

a.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless 
when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the 
census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken, 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State.  No  pref- 
erence shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of 
one  State  over  those  of  another ;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  State 
be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

6.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  consequence  of  appro- 
priations made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and 
expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time, 

7.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States ;  and  no  person 
holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  what- 
ever, from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Section  10. — i.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confedera- 
tion ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money ;  emit  bills  of  credit ; 
make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts ;  pass  any 
bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts, 
or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts  or 
duties  on  imports  or  exports  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  exe- 
cuting its  inspection  laws :  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts  laid  by 
any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the 
Congress.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  of  ton- 
nage, keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or 
compact  with  another  State  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II,  Section  i. — i.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  of  America,  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term 
of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term, 
be  elected  as  follows: 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  thereof  may 
direct,  a  number  of  Electors  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress ;  but  no  Senator  or 
Representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United 
States,  shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

Clause  J  has  been  superseded  by  the  12th  Article  of  Amendments, 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  Electors,  and  the 
day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes ;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  through- 
out the  United  States. 


342  APPENDIX 

5.  No  person,  except  a  natural-bom  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 

at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eHgible  to  the  office  of 
President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within 
the  United  States, 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death,  resig- 
nation, or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  said  office,  the  same 
shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President ;  and  the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for 
the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  President  and 
Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  offi- 
cer shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be 
elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a  compensation, 
which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other 
emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  following 
oath  or  affirmation : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  abiUty,  preserve,  pro- 
tect, and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Section  2. — i.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States  when  called 
into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any 
subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power 
to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offenses  against  the  United  States,  except  in 
cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to 
make  treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concur ;  and  he  shall 
nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint 
Embassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and'Consuls,  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein 
otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law ;  but  the  Congress 
may  by  law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  think  proper, 
in  the  President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  Departments. 

3,  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may  happen 
during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions  which  shall  expire  at 
the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  3. — He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  information  of 
the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as 
he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions, 
convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between 
them  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES  343 

time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  Embassadors  and  other  public 
Ministers;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  com- 
mission all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  4, — The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of, 
treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III.  Section  i. — The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall 
be  vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as  the  Congress 
may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges,  both  of  the  Supreme 
and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at 
stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation  which  shall  not  be  dimin- 
ished during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  2. — i.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law  and  equity 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made, 
or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  Embassadors, 
other  public  Ministers,  and  Consuls ;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  juris- 
diction ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party  ;  to  contro- 
versies between  two  or  more  States ;  between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another 
State ;  between  citizens  of  different  States  ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States ;  and  between  a  State,  or  the  cit- 
izens thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or  subjects, 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  Embassadors,  other  public  Ministers,  and  Consuls,  and 
those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  original 
jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall 
have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions  and 
under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury ; 
and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been 
committed ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such 
place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  3. — i.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort. 
No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  wit- 
nesses to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason,  but 
no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  except  dur- 
ing the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV.  Section  i.— Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State. 
And  the  Congress  may,  by  general  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such 
acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  2. — i.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who 


344  APPENDIX 

shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the 
executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  deUvered  up,  to  be  re- 
moved to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof,  es- 
caping into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be 
discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  3, — i.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union; 
but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other 
State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts 
of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well 
as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United 
States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice 
any  claims  of  the  United  States  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  4. — The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a 
repubHcan  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion ; 
and,  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  legislature 
can  not  be  convened)  against  domestic  violence, 

ARTICLE  v.— The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall 
deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the 
application  of  the  legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a 
convention  for  proposing  Amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  vahd  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legis- 
latures of  three  fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three  fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the 
Congress :  provided,  that  no  Amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and 
fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  State,  without 
its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI. — I.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States 
under  this  Constitution  as  under  the  Confederation. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made 
in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the 
judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  constitution  or 
laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  members  of 
the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to 
support  this  Constitution  ;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  quali- 
fication to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  345 

ARTICLE  VII.— The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States  skall  be 
sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratify- 
ing the  same. 


AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I. — Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to 
petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II. — A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. — No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any 
house  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to 
be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV. — The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  vio- 
lated, and  no  warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath 
or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  per- 
sons or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V. — No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except 
in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the 
same  offense  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled 
in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor  be  deprived  of  life, 
liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VI. — In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  pre- 
viously ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the 
accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel 
for  his  defense. 

ARTICLE  VII. — In  suits  at  common  law  where  the  value  in  controversy 
shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no 
fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  Court  of  the  United 
States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

ARTICLE  VIII. — Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. — The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 


346  APPENDIX 

ARTICLE  X.— The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively, 
or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XL— The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against 
one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects 
of  any  foreign  state. 

ARTICLE  XII.— The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be 
an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots 
the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as 
Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Pres- 
ident, and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes 
for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ; 
the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the  Presi- 
dent, if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed ; 
and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest 
numbers,  not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  represen- 
tation from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist 
of  a  member  or  members  from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the 
States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  not  choose  a  President,  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon 
them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President 
shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disa- 
bility of  the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as 
Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  Electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-Pres- 
ident ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number 
of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be 
ehgible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII. — 1.  Neither  Slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  Accept  as  a 
punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation, 

ARTICLE  XIV. — I.  All  persons  bom  or  naturahzed  in  the  United  States, 
and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  State  wherein  they  reside.     No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  347 

shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor 
shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protec- 
tion of  the  laws, 

2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States  according 
to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each 
State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election 
for  the  choice  of  Electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the 
members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of 
such  State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or 
in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis 
of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of 
such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  such  State. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress,  or  Elector  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the 
United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath,  as  a 
member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of 
any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  sup- 
port the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or 
rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  each  House,  remove  such  disability, 

4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  authorized  by  law,  in- 
cluding debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  sup- 
pressing insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the 
United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred 
in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the 
loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims 
shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate  legislation,  the 
provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV.— I.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall 
not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legis- 
lation. 


ABSTRACT  OF  THE  STATE  CONSTI- 
TUTION 


ARTICLE  I Personal  Rights. 

Section  i. — Persons  not  to  be  Disfranchised. — No  member  of  the  State 
may  be  disfranchised  or  be  deprived  of  any  right  or  privilege,  except  by  law 
and  after  a  legal  trial. 

Section  2. — Trial  by  Jury.— The  right  to  trial  by  jury,  in  all  cases  where 
it  has  heretofore  been  used,  shall  remain  inviolate. 

Section  3. — Freedom  of  Worship. — Free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  re- 
ligious profession  and  worship  shall  be  allowed  to  all ;  and  no  person  shall  be 
rendered  incompetent  to  be  a  witness  on  account  of  his  opinions  in  matters 
of  religion. 

Section  4. — Habeas  Corpus. — The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
may  not  be  suspended,  except  in  time  of  rebellion  or  invasion. 

Section  5. — Excessive  Bail  and  Fines. — Excessive  bail  shall  not  be 
required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  or  unusual  punishments  in- 
flicted, nor  shall  witnesses  be  unreasonably  detained. 

Section  6. — Rights  of  Accused  Persons. — No  person  may  be  held  to 
answer  for  a  capital  or  infamous  crime  (except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  cases 
in  the  army  and  navy,  and  cases  of  petit  larceny  under  regulations  of  the 
legislature)  unless  on  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury.  Accused 
persons  may  appear  in  court  and  defend  themselves  in  person  and  by  counsel. 
No  person  may  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  for  the  same  offense ;  nor  in  a  crimi- 
nal case  be  compelled  to  be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor  be  deprived  of 
life,  liberty  or  property  without  due  process  of  law.  Private  property  may 
not  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 

Section  7. — Compensation  on  Taking  Private  Property.  Private  Roads. 
Drainage  of  Agricultural  Lands. — When  private  property  is  taken  for  public 
use,  compensation  may  be  ascertained  by  commissioners  appointed  by  a  court 
of  record.  Private  roads  may  be  opened  when  necessary,  the  necessity  and 
the  amount  of  damage  to  be  ascertained  by  a  jury  of  freeholders.     Owners 

349 


350  APPENDIX 

of  agricultural  lands  may  construct  necessary  drains  across  the  property  of 
another,  under  proper  restrictions  and  with  just  compensation. 

Section  8. — Freedom  of  Speech  and  the  Press. — Every  citizen  may  freely 
speak,  write  and  publish  his  sentiments  on  all  subjects,  being  responsible  for 
the  abuse  of  that  right.  In  criminal  prosecutions  for  libel  the  truth  may  be 
given  in  evidence,  and  if  the  matter  charged  as  libelous  is  true,  but  was  pub- 
lished with  good  motives  and  for  ju-stifiable  ends,  the  party  must  be  acquitted. 

Section  9. — Right  of  Assembly  and  Petition.  Divorces.  Prohibition 
of  Gambling. — The  people  may  peaceably  assemble  and  petition  the  govern- 
ment or  any  department  thereof.  Divorces  may  not  be  granted  except  by 
judicial  proceedings.  Lotteries,  pool-selling,  book-making  and  all  gambling 
are  unlawful. 

Section  id. — Escheats. — All  lands  the  titles  to  which  fail  from  defect  of 
heirs  revert  to  the  people  of  the  State. 

Section  ii.— Feudal  Tenures  Abolished. — All  feudal  tenures  with  all 
their  incidents  are  abolished,  except  rents  and  services  certain  which  have 
been  lawfully  created. 

Section  12. — Allodial  Tenures. — All  lands  in  the  State  are  allodial  and 
may  be  sold  or  disposed  of  by  the  owners. 

Section  13. — Leases  of  Agricultural  Land. — No  lease  of  agricultural  land 
may  be  made  for  a  longer  period  than  twelve  years. 

Section  15. — Purchase  of  Land  from  Indians. — No  purchase  of  land  from 
the  Indians  is  valid  unless  made  under  the  authority  and  with  the  consent  of 
the  legislature. 

Section  16. — Common  Law  and  the  State  Law. — Those  parts  of  the 
Common  Law  of  England  not  repugnant  to  the  State  constitution,  which 
were  in  force  in  the  State  April  19,  1775,  and  have  not  since  expired  or  been 
repealed,  continue  to  be  the  law  of  the  State,  subject  to  alteration  or  repeal 
by  the  legislature. 

Section  18. — Damages  for  Injuries  Causing  Death. — The  right  of  action 
to  recover  damages  for  injuries  resulting  in  death  shall  not  be  abrogated,  and 
the  amount  recoverable  shall  not  be  subject  to  statutory  limitation. 

ARTICLE  II.— Voting. 

Section  i. — Qualifications  of  Voters. — Every  male  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  who  has  been  a  citizen  for  ninety  days,  and  an  inhabitant  of  the  State 
for  one  year,  and  a  resident  of  the  county  for  four  months,  and  a  resident  of 
the  election  district  for  thirty  days,  has  a  right  to  vote.  No  elector  m  the 
military  service  of  the  State,  or  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States, 


STATE   CONSTITUTION  351 

shall  be  deprived  of  the  right  to  vote  by  reason  of  his  absence  from  his 
election  district. 

Section  2. — Persons  Excluded  from  the  Suffrage. — No  person  who  shall 
receive,  accept  or  offer  to  receive,  or  pay,  offer  or  promise  to  pay,  contribute, 
offer  or  promise  to  contribute  to  another,  to  be  paid  or  used,  any  money  or 
other  valuable  thing  as  a  compensation  or  reward  for  the  giving  or  withhold- 
ing of  a  vote  at  an  election ;  or  who  shall  make  or  become  directly  or  in- 
directly interested  in  any  bet  depending  upon  the  result  of  any  election,  may 
vote  at  such  election.  The  legislature  shall  enact  laws  excluding  from  the 
right  of  suffrage  all  persons  convicted  of  bribery  or  of  any  infamous  crime. 

Section  3. — Residence  for  Purposes  of  Voting. — No  person  gains  or  loses 
a  residence  for  purposes  of  voting  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  or  in  navigation,  or  at  school,  or  while  kept  in 
any  almshouse  or  asylum  supported  wholly  or  partly  at  public  expense  or  by 
charity,  or  while  confined  in  a  public  prison. 

Section  4. — Registration. — Registration .  for  purposes  of  voting  must  be 
completed  at  least  ten  days  before  the  election.  In  cities  and  villages  having 
5,000  inhabitants  and  over,  registration  must  be  on  personal  application  of 
the  would-be  voter.  Persons  not  residents  of  such  cities  and  villages  need 
not  personally  apply  for  registration  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of 
registry. 

Section  5. — Manner  of  Voting. — All  elections,  except  for  such  town 
officers  as  may  by  law  be  directed  otherwise  to  be  chosen,  shall  be  by  ballot, 
or  by  some  other  prescribed  method  of  secret  voting. 

Section  6. — Election  and  Registration  Boards  to  be  Bipartisan. — All 
election  and  registration  boards  must  be  composed  of  an  equal  number  of 
representatives  from  the  two  political  parties  that  at  the  last  preceding  election 
cast  the  highest  and  the  next  highest  number  of  votes.  This  does  not  apply 
to  town  meetings  or  to  village  elections. 


ARTICLE  III.— The  Legislature. 

Section  I. — Legislative  Powers. — The  legislative  power  of  the  State  is 
vested  in  the  senate  and  the  assembly. 

Section  2. — Number  and  Terms  of  Senators  and  Assemblymen. — The 
senate  is  composed  of  fifty  members  except  as  otherwise  provided,  and 
senators  are  elected  for  terms  of  two  years  each.  The  assembly  is  com- 
posed of  150  members,  assemblymen  being  elected  for  terms  of  one  year 
each. 


352  APPENDIX 

Section  3. — Senate  Districts. — The  State  is  divided  into  senate  districts, 
each  of  which  elects  one  senator.     Senate  districts  in  1895-1906  were : 

1.  Richmond  and  Suffolk  counties. 

2.  Queens  County.^ 

3.  1st,  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th  and  6th  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

4.  7th,  13th,  19th  and  2ist  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

5.  8th,  loth,  1 2th,  30th  and  31st  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

6.  9th,  nth,  20th  and  22d  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

7.  14th,  15th,  i6th  and  17th  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

8.  23d,  24th,  25th,  29th  and  32d  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

9.  i8th,  26th,  27th  and  28th  wards  of  Brooklyn. 

10.  1st,  2d  and  4th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

11.  6th,  8th  and  loth  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

12.  I2th,  14th  and  i6th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

13.  3d,  5th  and  7th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

14.  1 8th,  20th  and  22d  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

15.  25th,  27th  and  29th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

16.  9th,  nth  and  13th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

17.  15th,  17th  and  19th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

18.  24th,  26th  and  28th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

19.  2ist,  23d  and  31st  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

20.  30th,  32d  and  33d  assembly  districts,  Manhattan. 

21.  34th  and  35th  assembly  districts,  Manhattan  and  The  Bronx. 

22.  Westchester  County  and  part  of  The  Bronx  (Annexed  District). 

23.  Orange  and  Rockland  counties. 

24.  Dutchess,  Columbia  and  Putnam  counties. 

25.  Ulster  and  Greene  counties. 

26.  Delaware,  Chenango  and  Sullivan  counties. 

27.  Montgomery,  Fulton,  Hamilton  and  Schoharie  counties. 

28.  Saratoga,  Schenectady  and  Washington  counties. 

29.  Albany  County. 

30.  Rensselaer  County. 

31.  Clinton,  Essex  and  Warren  counties. 

32.  St.  Lawrence  and  Franklin  counties. 

33.  Otsego  and  Herkimer  counties. 

34.  Oneida  County. 

35.  Jefferson  and  Lewis  counties. 

36.  Onondaga  County. 

*  Including  the  new  county  of  Nassau. 


STATE    CONSTITUTION  353 


37.  Oswego  and  Madison  counties. 

38.  Broome,  Cortland  and  Tioga  counties. 

39.  Cayuga  and  Seneca  counties. 

40.  Chemung,  Tompkins  and  Schuyler  counties. 

41.  Steuben  and  Yates  counties. 

42.  Ontario  and  Wayne  counties. 

^^'  \  Monroe  County. 

44-  J 

45.  Niagara,  Genesee  and  Orleans  counties. 

46.  Allegany,  Livingston  and  Wyoming  counties. 

47-  ) 

48.  V  Erie  County. 

49.  J 

50.  Chautauqua  and  Cattaraugus  counties. 


Section  4. — Enumeration  and  Reapportionment. — The  inhabitants  of  the 
State  are  to  be  enumerated  in  1905  and  every  tenth  year  thereafter.  After 
each  enumeration  the  legislature  must  alter  the  senate  districts  so  that  each 
shall  contain  as  nearly  as  possible  an  equal  number  of  inhabitants.  Districts 
must  be  in  compact  form,  and  counties  must  not  be  divided  except  to  form  one 
or  more  senate  districts  wholly  within  a  county.  No  town  or  city  block  may 
be  divided  in  forming  senate  districts.  No  county  may  have  four  or  more 
senators  unless  it  has  a  full  ratio  for  each  senator.  No  one  county  may  con- 
tain more  than  one  third  and  no  two  adjoining  counties  more  than  one  half 
of  the  total  number  of  senators.  The  ratio  for  apportioning  senators  is  ob- 
tained by  dividing  the  total  population,  aliens  excluded,  by  fifty,  and  the 
senate  is  to  contain  fifty  members,  except  that  if  any  county  having  three  or 
more  senators  at  the  time  of  an  apportionment  is  entitled  to  an  additional 
senator  or  senators,  such  additional  senator  or  senators  shall  be  given  to  the 
county  in  addition  to  the  fifty  senators. 

Section  5. — Apportionment  of  Assemblymen. — Assemblymen  are  to  be 
apportioned  among  the  counties  in  proportion  to  population,  but  no  county 
heretofore  established  is  to  have  less  than  one,  except  Hamilton  which 
with  the  county  of  Fulton  together  elect  one  assemblyman.  The  ratio  of  ap- 
portionment for  assemblymen  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  whole  number  of 
inhabitants,  aliens  excepted,  by  150.  One  member  of  assembly  is  apportioned 
to  every  county  containing  less  than  the  ratio  and  one-half  over  and  two  to 
every  other  county.  The  remaining  members  are  apportioned  to  counties 
having  more  than  two  ratios  in  proportion  to  population,  aliens  excepted. 
Counties  entitled  to  more  than  one  assemblyman  are  divided  into  assembly 


354  APPENDIX 

districts  by  the  board  of  supervisors,  or  by  the  common  council  where  a  city 
embraces  an  entire  county  and  the  latter  has  no  board  of  supervisors.  Fol- 
lowing was  the  apportionment  for  1895-1906: 

Counties  entitled  to  one  assemblyman  :  Allegany,  Chemung,  Chenango, 
Clinton,  Columbia,  Cortland,  Delaware,  Essex,  Franklin,  Fulton  (including 
Hamilton),  Genesee,  Herkimer,  Greene,  Lewis,  Livingston,  Madison, 
Montgomery,  Ontario,  Orleans,  Otsego,  Putnam,  Richmond,  Rockland, 
Saratoga,  Schenectady,  Schoharie,  Schuyler,  Seneca,  Sullivan,  Tioga,  Tomp- 
kins, Warren,  Washington,  Wayne,  Wyoming,  Yates. 

Counties  entitled  to  two  assemblymen  :  Broome,  Cattaraugus,  Cayuga, 
Chautauqua,  Dutchess,  Jeflerson,  Niagara,  Orange,  Oswego,  St.  Lawrence, 
Steuben,  Suffolk,  Ulster. 

Counties  entitled  to  three  assemblymen:  Oneida,  Queens,^  Rensselaer, 
Westchester. 

Counties  entitled  to  four  assemblymen  :     Albany,  Monroe,  Onondaga. 

County  entitled  to  eight  assemblymen  :     Erie. 

County  entitled  to  twenty-one  assemblymen :     Kings. 

County  entitled  to  thirty-five  assemblymen :     New  York. 

Section  6. — Compensation  of  Legislators. — Each  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture is  to  receive  an  annual  salary  of  ^1,500,  and  in  addition  one  dollar  for 
every  ten  miles  which  he  travels  going  to  and  returning  from  the  meeting- 
place  of  the  legislature  once  in  each  session,  on  the  most  usual  route. 

Section  7. — Civil  Appointments  of  Legislators  Void. — No  member  of  the 
legislature  may  receive  any  civil  appointment  during  the  time  for  which  he  is 
elected,  and  any  such  appointment  is  void. 

Section  8. — Persons  Disqualified  from  Being  Members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture.— No  person  is  eligible  to  the  legislature,  who  at  the  time  of  his  election, 
or  within  one  hundred  days  previous  thereto,  has  been  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, or  a  civil  or  military  officer  under  the  United  States,  or  an  officer  under 
any  city  government. 

Section  9. — Time  of  Elections. — Members  of  the  legislature  are  elected 
on  the  Tuesday  following  the  first  Monday  in  November,  unless  otherwise 
ordered  by  the  legislature. 

Section  10. — Powers  of  Each  House. — A  majority  of  the  members  of  each 
house  of  the  legislature  constitutes  a  quorum.  Each  house  makes  its  own 
rules  of  procedure,  judges  of  the  election  and  qualifications  of  its  members, 
and  chooses  its  own  officers.  The  senate  chooses  a  temporary  president  to 
act  in  the  absence  of  the  lieutenant  governor. 

» The  third  district  of  the  former  Queens  County  included  the  ne^v  County  of  Nassau. 


STATE    CONSTITUTION  355 

Section  ii. — Journals  and  Proceedings. — Each  house  keeps  a  journal  of 
its  proceedings,  which  are  open  to  the  public  except  when  public  welfare 
requires  secrecy.  Neither  house  may  adjourn  for  more  than  two  days  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  other. 

Section  12. — Freedom  of  Debate. — No  member  may  be  legally  ques- 
tioned in  any  other  place  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house  of  the 
legislature. 

Section  13. — Bills  may  Originate  in  Either  House. — Any  bill  may  origi- 
nate in  either  house  of  the  legislature,  and  all  bills  passed  by  one  house  may 
be  amended  by  the  other. 

Section  14. — Enacting  Clause. — The  enacting  clause  of  all  bills  shall  be, 
"The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York  represented  in  senate  and  assembly, 
do  enact  as  follows  " : 

Section  15. — Manner  of  Passing  Bills. — No  bill  may  be  passed  or  become 
a  law  unless  it  is  printed  and  lies  in  its  final  form  for  at  least  three  calendar 
legislative  days  upon  the  desks  of  the  members,  unless  the  governor  or  acting 
governor  certify  to  the  need  of  its  immediate  passage.  No  bill  may  be  passed 
except  by  the  assent  of  the  majority  of  the  members  elected  to  each  branch 
of  the  legislature.     No  amendment  is  allowed  on  the  last  reading  of  a  bill. 

Section  16. — Private  and  Local  Bills. — No  private  or  local  bill  may  era- 
brace  more  than  one  subject,  and  that  must  be  expressed  in  its  title. 

Section  18. — Certain  Private  and  Local  Bills  Prohibited. — Private  or  local 
bills  may  not  be  passed  in  the  following  cases,  but  the  legislature  may  enact 
general  laws  thereon  affecting  the  whole  State:  Changing  names  of  persons; 
laying  out,  opening,  altering  and  discontinuing  roads;  locating  or  changing 
county  seats ;  changing  venue  in  civil  or  criminal  suits ;  incorporating  vil- 
lages ;  selecting  and  summoning  jurors ;  regulating  the  rate  of  interest ;  con- 
ducting elections ;  creating  and  changing  fees  of  public  officers ;  granting  the 
right  to  lay  railroad  tracks ;  granting  to  any  private  corporation,  association 
or  individual  any  exclusive  privilege,  immunity  or  franchise ;  providing  for 
bridges  except  over  the  Hudson  below  Waterford,  on  the  East  River,  or  over 
waters  forming  the  boundaries  of  the  State. 

Section  19. — Private  Claims  not  to  be  Audited  by  the  Legislature. — The 
legislature  may  audit  no  private  claim,  but  may  appropriate  money  to  pay 
claims  lawfully  audited. 

Section  20. — Two-thirds  Bills. — The  assent  of  two  thirds  of  the  members 
of  each  legislative  house  is  necessary  to  pass  a  bill  appropriating  public 
money  for  local  or  private  purposes. 

Section  21. — Appropriation  Bills. — No  money  may  be  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  State  except  in  pursuance  of  an  appropriation  by  law. 


3S6  APPENDIX 

Section  22. — Restricting  Provisions  in  Appropriation  Bills. — No  provision 
may  be  embraced  in  an  annual  appropriation  or  supply  bill  unless  it  relates 
specifically  to  some  particular  appropriation  in  the  bill. 

Section  24. — Tax  Bills. — Every  \z.\f  imposing  a  tax  must  state  distinctly 
the  tax  and  the  object  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied. 

Section  25. — Quorum  in  case  of  Money  Bills. — On  the  passage  of  an  act 
imposing  a  tax,  creating  a  debt,  or  making  an  appropriation  of  public  money, 
or  releasing  any  claim  of  the  State,  the  vote  of  each  member  must  be  re- 
corded, and  three  fifths  of  all  the  members  elected  to  either  house  constitute  a 
quorum. 

Section  26. — Boards  of  Supervisors. — Every  county,  except  in  cities  whose 
boundaries  are  the  same  as  those  of  a  county,  must  have  a  board  of  supervis- 
ors ;  but  in  such  cities  the  duties  of  supervisors  devolve  upon  the  common 
council. 

Section  27. — Local  Legislative  Powers. — The  legislature  may  confer  upon 
boards  of  supervisors  and  county  auditors  further  powers  of  local  legislation. 

Section  28. — Extra  Compensation  Prohibited. — Neither  the  legislature,  a 
common  council,  nor  a  board  of  supervisors  may  grant  any  extra  compensa- 
tion to  any  public  officer,  servant,  or  contractor. 

Section  29. — Prison  Labor  Contract  System  Abolished. — The  labor  of 
public  prisoners  may  not  be  farmed  out,  contracted,  given  or  sold  to  any 
person,  firm,  association  or  corporation ;  but  the  products  of  prison  labor  may 
be  disposed  of  to  the  State  or  any  of  its  political  divisions  or  public 
institutions. 

ARTICLE  IV.— Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor. 

Section  i. — Executive  Power. — The  executive  power  of  the  State  is  vested 
in  the  governor.  Governor  and  lieutenant  governor  are  chosen  at  the  same 
time  and  hold  office  for  a  term  of  two  years  each. 

Section  2. — Qualifications. — To  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  governor  or 
lieutenant  governor  a  person  must  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  at  least 
thirty  years  of  age,  and  five  years  a  resident  of  the  State. 

Section  3. — Election. — Governor  and  lieutenant  governor  are  to  be  elected 
at  the  times  and  places  of  choosing  members  of  the  assembly.  On  a  tie  vote 
the  two  houses  of  the  legislature  may  choose  a  governor  or  lieutenant 
governor. 

Section  4. — Governor's  Powers  and  Duties. — The  governor  is  commander 
in  chief  of  the  State's  military  and  naval  forces,  has  power  to  convene  the 
legislature  or  senate  in  extra  session,  must  send  a  message  to  the  legislature 


STATE   CONSTITUTION  357 

at  each  session,  transacts  all  necessary  business  with  the  civil  or  military 
officers  of  the  government,  must  faithfully  execute  all  laws,  and  receives  an 
annual  salary  of  ^io,cxx). 

Section  5. — Reprieves,  Commutations  and  Pardons. — The  governor  has 
power  to  grant  reprieves,  commutations  and  pardons  after  conviction,  for  all 
offenses  except  treason  and  cases  of  impeachment. 

Section  6. — When  Lieutenant  Governor  Acts  for  Governor. — The  lieu- 
tenant governor  acts  in  place  of  the  governor  when  the  latter  is  impeached, 
removed  from  office,  dies,  resigns,  or  becomes  unable  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  his  office. 

Section  7. — Duties  of  Lieutenant  Governor.  Succession  to  Governorship. 
— The  lieutenant  governor  is  president  of  the  senate  and  has  a  casting  vote 
therein.  When  both  governor  and  lieutenant  governor  become  for  any 
reason  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  governor,  the  president  of  the 
senate  is  to  act  as  governor,  and  in  case  of  his  disability,  the  speaker  of  the 
assembly. 

Section  8. — Salary  of  Lieutenant  Governor. — The  lieutenant  governor  is 
to  receive  an  annual  salary  of  ^5,000  and  no  other  compensation. 

Section  9. — Legislative  Powers  of  Governor. — Bills  passed  by  the  legisla- 
ture must  be  presented  to  the  governor  before  becoming  laws.  If  he  approves 
a  bill  he  signs  it.  If  the  governor  disapproves  of  a  bill  so  passed- he  must  re- 
turn it  to  the  house  in  which  it  originated  with  a  statement  of  his  objections. 
The  legislature  must  then  proceed  to  reconsider  the  bill,  and  if  it  is  finally 
approved  by  two  thirds  of  the  members  elected  to  both  houses,  it  becomes  a 
law  in  spite  of  the  objections  of  the  governor.  A  bill  not  returned  by  the 
governor  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  has  been  presented  to 
him  becomes  a  law  the  same  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  legislature  by 
its  adjournment  prevents  a  return  of  the  bill,  in  which  case  it  does  not  be- 
come a  law  without  the  express  approval  of  the  governor.  No  bill  becomes 
a  law  after  the  final  adjournment  of  the  legislature  unless  approved  by  the 
governor  within  thirty  days  after  adjournment.  The  governor  may  veto 
separate  items  in  an  appropriation  bill,  while  allowing  other  portions  of  the 
bill  to  pass. 

ARTICLE  V. — Other  Executive  Officers. 

Section  i. — Officers,  Terms  and  Compensation. — The  secretary  of  state, 
comptroller,  treasurer,  attorney-general,  and  State  engineer  and  surveyor  are 
to  be  chosen  at  the  same  times  and  places  as  the  governor  and  lieutenant 
governor  and  are  to  hold  office  for  terms  of  two  years  each.  The  State  engi- 
neer and  surveyor  must  be  a  practical  civil  engineer. 


358  APPENDIX 

Section  3. — Superintendent  of  Public  Works. — A  superintendent  of  public 
works  is  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  senate,  to  hold  office  until  the  end  of  the  governor's  term,  or  until  his 
successor  is  appointed.  He  is  to  execute  all  laws  relating  to  the  repair,  navi- 
gation, construction  and  improvement  of  the  canals,  except  such  as  are  not 
confided  to  the  State  engineer  and  surveyor.  He  may  be  suspended  or  re- 
moved from  office  by  the  governor. 

Section  4. — Superintendent  of  State  Prisons. — A  superintendent  of  State 
prisons  is  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  senate,  for  a  term  of  five  years.  He  may  be  removed  by  the  gov- 
ernor for  cause. 

Section  5.— Various  Commissioners. — The  lieutenant  governor,  speaker  of 
the  assembly,  secretary  of  state,  comptroller,  treasurer,  attorney-general,  and 
State  engineer  and  surveyor  are  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office.  The 
lieutenant  governor,  secretary  of  state,  comptroller,  treasurer  and  attorney- 
general  are  commissioners  of  the  canal  fund.  The  latter  with  the  State 
engineer  and  surveyor,  and  the  superintendent  of  public  works,  are  the  canal 
board. 

Section  7. — State  Treasurer  may  be  Suspended. — The  governor  may 
suspend  the  State  treasurer  during  a  recess  of  the  legislature,  when  it  appears 
that  the  treasurer  has  violated  his  duty. 

Section  9. — Civil  Service  Appointments  and  Promotions. — Appointments 
and  promotions  in  the  civil  service  of  the  State,  and  of  all  civil  divisions 
thereof,  including  cities  and  villages,  are  to  be  made  according  to  merit  and 
fitness,  to  be  ascertained,  so  far  as  practicable,  by  examinations,  which  so  far 
as  practicable,  are  to  be  competitive.  Honorably  discharged  soldiers  and 
sailors,  who  are  veterans  of  the  late  civil  war,  and  residents  and  citizens  of 
the  State,  are  entitled  to  preference  in  appointment  and  promotion  without 
regard  to  their  standing  on  the  civil  service  lists. 

ARTICLE  VI.— Courts. 

Section  i. — Supreme  Court. — The  supreme  court  is  continued  with  gen- 
eral jurisdiction  in  law  and  equity,  subject  to  the  appellate  jurisdiction  of  the 
court  of  appeals.  The  legislature  may  alter  the  judicial  districts  once  after 
every  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  State  under  the  constitution,  and 
may  reapportion  the  justices. 

Section  2. — Judicial  Departments.  Appellate  Division  Supreme  Court. — 
The  legislature  must  divide  the  State  into  four  judicial  departments,  the  first 
to  consist  of  the  County  of  New  York,  the  others  to  be  bounded  by  county 


STATE   CONSTITUTION  359 

lines,  to  be  compact  and  as  nearly  equal  in  population  as  possible.  There  is 
to  be  an  appellate  division  of  the  supreme  court,  to  consist  of  seven  justices  in 
the  first  department  and  of  five  in  each  of  the  others.  Four  constitute  a 
quorum  and  the  concurrence  of  three  is  necessary  to  a  decision.  The  gover- 
nor appoints  from  among  all  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court,  the  judges  of  the 
several  appellate  divisions  and  the  presiding  justice  in  each  division. 

Section  3. — Justice  not  to  Sit  in  Review. — No  judge  may  sit  in  the  appel- 
late division  or  in  the  court  of  appeals  in  review  of  a  decision  previously 
made  by  him  in  another  court. 

Section  4. — Terms  of  Office. — The  official  terms  of  justices  of  the  supreme 
court  are  fourteen  years.     The  governor  may  fill  vacancies  by  appointment. 

Section  7. — Court  of  Appeals. — This  court  is  to  consist  of  seven  justices — 
including  a  chief  justice — elected  for  terms  of  fourteen  years.  Five  are  a 
quorum,  and  the  agreement  of  four  is  necessary  to  a  decision.  The  governor 
may  appoint  four  supreme  court  judges  to  sit  temporarily  in  this  court. 

Section  9. — Jurisdiction  of  Court  of  Appeals. — The  jurisdiction  of  the 
court  of  appeals,  except  where  the  judgment  is  of  death,  is  limited  to  a  re- 
view of  questions  of  law.  No  unanimous  decision  of  the  appellate  division 
of  the  supreme  court  that  there  is  evidence  tending  to  sustain  the  finding  of  a 
fact  or  a  verdict  not  directed  by  the  court,  may  be  reviewed  by  the  court  of 
appeals.  The  right  to  appeal  to  the  latter  court  shall  not  depend  upon  the 
amount  of  money  involved. 

Section  10.— Judges  not  to  Hold  Other  Office.— The  judges  of  the  court 
of  appeals  and  of  the  supreme  court  may  hold  no  other  office  or  public  trust. 

Section  ii. — Removal  of  Judges. — Judges  of  the  couit  of  appeals  and  of 
the  supreme  court  may  be  removed  for  cause  by  two  thirds  of  the  members 
elected  to  each  house  of  the  legislature.  Other  judicial  officers,  except  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  and  justices  of  inferior  courts  not  of  record,  may  be  re- 
moved by  two  thirds  of  the  senators,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  governor. 

Section  12. — Age  Restriction. — No  person  may  hold  the  office  of  judge  or 
justice  of  any  court  longer  than  until  and  including  the  last  day  of  December 
next  after  he  shall  be  seventy  years  of  age.  (Amendment  of  1909  fixes  sal- 
aries of  supreme  court  justices;    see  page  367.) 

Seci'ION  13. — Trial  of  Impeachments. — The  assembly,  by  a  vote  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  elected,  has  the  power  of  impeachment.  The  court  for 
the  trial  of  impeachments  is  composed  of  the  president  of  the  senate,  a  ma- 
jority of  the  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals 
sitting  together.  Conviction  is  by  concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  members. 
The  judgment  of  the  court  does  not  extend  beyond  removal  from  office,  or  re- 
moval and  disqualification  to  hold  any  office  under  the  State. 


36o  APPENDIX 

Section  14. — County  Courts. — There  is  to  be  a  county  court  in  each 
county,  presided  over  by  a  county  judge,  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years  by 
the  voters  of  his  county.  Kings  county  has  two  county  judges.  County 
courts  have  original  jurisdiction  in  civil  suits  where  the  amount  involved  does 
not  exceed  ^2,000. 

Section  15. — Surrogate's  Courts. — Surrogate's  courts  are  to  be  held  in 
each  county,  by  a  surrogate  chosen  for  a  term  of  six  years  (except  in  New 
York  county,  where  the  term  is  fourteen  years)  by  the  people  of  the  county; 
except  that  in  counties  having  less  than  40,000  population  thecounty  judge  is 
to  act  as  surrogate. 

Section  17. — Justices  of  the  Peace  and  District  Court  Judges. — Justices  of 
the  peace  are  to  be  elected  in  each  town  at  the  annual  town  meeting  for  terms 
of  four  years  each.  Their  number  and  classification  may  be  regulated  by 
law.  Justices  of  the  peace  and  justices  of  inferior  local  courts  not  of  record 
may  be  removed  for  cause  by  such  courts  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law.  Jus- 
tices of  the  peace  and  district  court  judges  may  be  elected  in  the  different  cities 
with  powers  and  terms  prescribed  by  law. 

Section  18. — Inferior  Local  Courts. — Inferior  local  courts  may  be  estab- 
lished by  the  legislature,  but  not  as  courts  of  record.  Such  courts  may  exer- 
cise no  equity  jurisdiction  nor  any  greater  jurisdiction  in  other  respects  than 
is  conferred  upon  county  courts. 

Section  20. — Judges  not  to  Receive  Fees. — No  judicial  officer,  except 
justices  of  the  peace,  may  receive  any  fees.  No  judge  of  the  court  of  appeals, 
or  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  or  any  county  judge  or  surrogate  elected  in  a 
county  having  more  than  120,000  population,  may  practice  law  in  a  court  of 
record  in  this  State,  or  act  as  referee.  Only  attorneys  of  this  State  are  eligi- 
ble for  judicial  positions. 

Section  21. — Publication  of  Statutes. — The  legislature  must  provide  for 
the  speedy  publication  of  ail  statutes,  but  all  laws  and  judicial  decisions  may 
be  published  freely  by  any  person. 

ARTICLE  VII.— State  Property  and  Debts. 

Section  i. — State  Credit  not  to  be  Given. — The  credit  of  the  State  may 
not  be  given  or  loaned  in  aid  of  any  individual,  association  or  corporation. 

Section  2. — Power  of  the  State  to  Contract  Debts. — To  meet  casual  def- 
icits or  failures  in  revenue,  the  State  may  contract  debts  not  to  exceed  at  any 
one  time  one  million  dollars.  Moneys  so  raised  must  be  applied  only  to  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  raised. 

Section  3. — State  Debts  to  Repel  Invasion. — The  State  may  contract  debts 


STATE   CONSTITUTION,  361 

to  repel  invasion,  suppress  insurrection,  or  defend  the  State  in  war ;  but 
moneys  raised  for  such  purposes  may  be  applied  only  to  the  purposes  for 
which  they  were  raised. 

Section  4. — Other  State  Debts. — No  other  State  debt  may  be  contracted 
except  by  law,  and  for  some  single  work  or  object  to  be  distinctly  specified  ; 
and  the  law  must  provide  for  the  collection  of  a  direct  annual  tax  sufficient 
to  pay  the  interest  on  the  debt,  and  to  pay  the  debt  within  fifty  years;  and 
before  taking  effect,  such  law  must  be  submitted  to  the  people  at  a  general 
election  and  be  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  for  and  against  it. 

Section  5. — Sinking  Funds. — Sinking  funds  provided  for  payment  of  State 
debts  must  be  separately  kept  and  invested,  and  used  for  no  other  purpose. 

Section  6. — Limitation  of  Claims. — No  person  or  official  acting  in  behalf 
of  the  State  may  allow  or  pay  any  claim  against  the  State,  which,  as  between 
citizens  of  the  State,  would  be  barred  by  lapse  of  time. 

Section  7. — Forest  Preserve. — The  State  forest  preserve  must  be  forever 
kept  as  wild  forest  land,  and  may  not  be  leased,  sold,  or  exchanged,  and  the 
timber  on  the  same  may  not  be  sold,  removed  or  destroyed. 

Section  8. — Canals. — The  Erie  Canal,  the  Oswego  Canal,  the  Champlain 
Canal,  the  Cayuga  and  Seneca  Canal,  and  the  Black  River  Canal  are  to  re- 
main the  property  of  the  State  and  under  its  management. 

Section  9. — No  Tolls  on  Canals. — No  tolls  may  be  imposed  upon  persons 
or  property  transported  on  canals  owned  by  the  State. 

Section  10. — Canal  Improvement. — The  canals  may  be  improved  as  the 
legislature  may  direct,  the  cost  to  be  defrayed  by  an  appropriation  of  funds 
from  the  State  treasury,  or  by  annual  tax. 

Section  ii. — Payment  of  Debts. — The  direct  tax  required  by  Section  4 
above,  need  not  be  collected  if  the  legislature  provides  other  funds  instead. 

Section  12. — Highways. — State  debts  not  exceeding  $50,000,000  may  be 
incurred  by  general  laws  for  improvement  of  highways. 

ARTICLE  VIII. — Corporations,  Public  Funds,  etc. 

Section  i. — Corporations,  as  a  rule,  are  to  be  formed  under  general  laws. 
Municipal  corporations  may  be  created  by  special  act.  ■ 

Section  4. — Bank  Charters.  Restriction  of  Trustees. — ^No  special  charter 
for  banking  purposes  may  be  granted  by  the  legislature.  No  trustee  of  a 
savings  bank  may  have  any  interest  in  the  profits  of  such  corporation. 

Section  5. — Specie  Payment. — The  legislature  has  no  power  to  pass  any 
law  sanctioning  the  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  any  bank. 

Section  6. — Registry  of  Bills  or  Notes. — State  bank  bills  must  be  registered 
by  the  State,  and  ample  security  provided  for  their  redemption  in  specie. 


362  APPENDIX 

Section  7. — Liability  of  Stockholders  of  Banks— The  stockholders  of  any 
bank  are  individually  responsible  to  the  amount  of  their  respective  shares,  for 
all  the  bank's  debts. 

Section  9. — Credit  of  the  State  not  to  be  Given. — Neither  the  credit  nor 
money  of  the  State  may  be  given  or  loaned  in  aid  of  any  private  enterprise. 

Section  10. — Cities  and  Towns  not  to  Loan  their  Credit.  Limitation  of 
Indebtedness. — No  county,  city,  town  or  village  may  give  or  loan  its  money 
or  credit  in  aid  of  any  private  enterprise  or  incur  any  debt  except  for  munic- 
ipal purposes.  No  county  or  city  may  go  into  debt  in  excess  of  ten  per  cent, 
of  the  assessed  valuation  of  its  taxable  real  estate,  except  to  provide  a  water 
supply.  When  the  boundaries  of  a  city  and  county  are  the  same,  or  a  city 
shall  include  within  its  boundaries  more  than  one  county,  the  power  of  such  a 
county  to  go  into  debt  ceases,  but  the  existing  county  debt  is  not,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  section,  to  be  reckoned  as  a  part  of  the  city  debt.  No  county 
containing  a  city  of  over  100,000  inhabitants,  and  no  such  city,  may  levy  an 
annual  tax  of  more  than  two  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  value  of  its  taxable  real 
and  personal  property,  above  what  is  necessary  to  provide  for  the  principal 
and  interest  of  its  existing  debt. 

Sections  ii  and  12. — State  Board  of  Charities.  State  Commission  in 
Lunacy.  State  Commission  of  Prisons. — The  legislature  is  to  provide  for  a 
State  board  of  charities  to  visit  and  inspect  all  charitable  and  reformatory  in- 
stitutions in  the  State;  a  State  commission  in  lunacy  to  visit  all  insane 
asylums  in  the  State ;  and  a  State  commission  of  prisons  to  visit  prisons. 
Members  are  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  senate,  and  to  be  subject  to  removal  by  the  governor. 

ARTICLE  IX.— Education. 

Section  i. — The  legislature  must  provide  a  system  of  free  common  schools 
wherein  all  the  children  of  the  State  may  be  educated. 

Section  2. — Regents  of  the  University. — The  regents  of  the  University  of 
New  York  are  continued  under  the  name  of  The  University  of  the  State  of 
New  York. 

Section  3. — Common  School,  Literature,  and  United  States  Deposit  Funds. 
— The  capital  of  each  of  these  funds  must  be  preserved  inviolate.  The  reve- 
nue of  the  common  school  fund  is  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of  the  common 
schools,  the  revenue  of  the  literature  fund  to  the  support  of  the  academies, 
and  $25,000  of  the  United  States  deposit  fund  is  to  be  each  year  appropriated 
to  and  made  a  part  of  the  capital  of  the  common  school  fund. 

Section  4. — Neither  the  State  nor  any  municipality  may  aid  in  the  main- 
tenance of  any  school  or  institution  of  learning  wholly  or  in  part  under  the 


STATE   CONSTITUTION  363 

control  or  direction  of  any  religious  denomination,  or  in  which  any  denomina- 
tional tenet  or  doctrine  is  taught. 

ARTICLE  X.— Public  Officers. 

Section  i. — Sheriffs,  District  Attorneys,  County  Clerks,  and  Registers. — 
These  officers  are  to  be  chosen  in  their  respective  counties  once  in  three 
years,  except  in  New  York  and  Kings  counties,  and  in  counties  whose  bound- 
aries are  the  same  as  a  city,  when  they  are  to  be  chosen  once  in  two  or  four 
years,  as  the  legislature  may  elect.  Sheriffs  are  ineligible  for  the  next  suc- 
ceeding term.     The  governor  may  remove  any  of  these  officers  for  cause. 

Section  6. — The  Political  Year. — The  political  year  and  the  legislative 
term  begin  on  the  first  day  of  January.  The  legislature  must  assemble  on 
the  first  Wednesday  in  January. 

Section  9. — Compensation  of  Officers. — No  officer  whose  salary  is  fixed 
by  the  constitution  may  receive  additional  compensation.  Each  of  the  other 
officers  named  in  the  constitution  is  to  receive  a  salary  fixed  by  law,  which 
may  not  be  increased  or  diminished  during  his  term  of  office. 

ARTICLE  XL— The  Militia. 

Section  i. — The  State  Militia. — All  able-bodied  citizens,  not  exempt  by 
law,  who  are  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  and  residents  of  the 
State,  constitute  the  militia. 

Section  3. — Organization. — The  legislature  is  to  organize  the  militia  and 
to  divide  it  into  land  and  naval  forces ;  and  there  must  be  maintained  at  all 
times  a  force  of  not  less  than  10,000  men  fully  uniformed,  armed,  equipped, 
disciplined,  and  ready  for  active  service. 

Section  4. — Appointments  by  Governor. — The  governor  is  to  appoint  the 
chiefs  of  all  stafT  departments,  his  aids-de-camp,  and  military  secretary,  whose 
commissions  expire  with  his  term.  He  also  appoints  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  senate,  the  major  generals. 

Section  6. — Removals  from  Office. — Commissioned  officers  may  be  re- 
moved for  cause  by  the  senate,  on  recommendation  of  the  governor,  or  by 
sentence  of  a  court-martial,  or  by  the  findings  of  an  examining  board, 

ARTICLE  XIL— Cities. 

Section  i. — Organization. — It  is  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  provide  for 
the  organization  of  cities  and  villages,  and  to  restrict  their  power  of  taxation 
and  of  contracting  debt. 


364  APPENDIX 

Section  2. — Classification  of  Cities.  Special  City  Laws. — Cities  of  the 
first  class  have  a  population  of  175,000  and  over,  of  the  second  class  a  popu- 
lation between  50,000  and  175,000,  cities  of  the  third  class  include  all  others. 
When  a  proposed  law  applying  to  a  particular  city  has  passed  both  houses  of 
the  legislature  it  must  be  sent  to  the  mayor  of  the  city,  who  must  return  it 
within  fifteen  days  to  the  legislature,  if  in  session,  or  to  the  governor,  if  the 
legislature  be  not  in  session,  stating  whether  or  not  the  city  accepts  the  pro- 
posed law.  If  accepted,  the  proposed  law  is  subject  to  the  action  of  the  gov- 
ernor as  in  case  of  other  bills.  If  rejected  or  not  returned  within  fifteen 
days,  and  the  legislature  be  still  in  session,  the  bill  may  be  repassed  by  both 
branches  of  the  legislature,  when  it  is  subject  to  the  action  of  the  governor,  as 
in  case  of  other  bills. 

Section  3. — Election  of  City  Officers. — City  officers  in  cities  of  the  first 
and  second  classes  including  supervisors,  and  judicial  officers  of  inferior  local 
courts,  and  county  officers  elected  in  New  York  and  Kings  counties,  and 
county  officers  in  all  counties  whose  boundaries  are  the  same  as  those  of  a 
city,  are  to  be  elected  on  the  Tuesday  succeeding  the  first  Monday  in  Novem- 
ber in  an  odd-numbered  year,  and  the  term  of  every  such  officer  is  to  expire 
at  the  end  of  an  odd-numbered  year. 

ARTICLE  XIII. — Oath  of  Office.    Provisions  Against  Bribery  and 

Corruption. 

Section  i. — Oath  of  Office. — Members  of  the  legislature,  and  all  officers 
executive  and  judicial,  except  such  inferior  officers  as  the  law  exempts,  must, 
before  they  enter  upon  the  duties  of  office  take  the  following  oath :  "  I  do 
solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  support  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  that  I  will  faith- 
fully discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  of  .  .  .  according  to  the  best 
of  my  ability."  And  all  such  officers  chosen  at  any  election  must  take  the 
following  in  addition :  "  And  I  do  further  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I 
have  not  directly  or  indirectly  paid,  offered  or  promised  to  pay,  contributed, 
or  offered  or  promised  to  contribute  any  money,  or  other  valuable  thing  as  a 
consideration  or  reward  for  the  giving  or  withholding  a  vote  at  the  election 
at  which  I  was  elected  to  said  office,  and  have  not  made  any  promise  to  in- 
fluence the  giving  or  withholding  any  such  vote." 

Sections  2  and  3. — Official  Bribery  and  Corruption. — Any  person  holding 
office  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  who  accepts  a  bribe  for  performing  or  omit- 
ting to  perform  any  official  act,  is  guilty  of  a  felony.  The  person  who  offers 
the  bribe  is  also  guilty  of  a  felony. 


STATE   CONSTITUTION  365 

Section  5. — Passes  and  Franking  Privileges  Prohibited. — No  public  officer 
may  ask  or  receive  for  himself  or  for  another  any  free  pass,  free  transporta- 
tion,  franking  privilege  or  discrimination  in  passenger,  telegraph,  or  tele- 
phone rates.  Violation  of  this  section  is  a  misdemeanor  both  for  the  party 
receiving  and  the  party  granting  the  pass,  privilege,  or  discrimination. 

Section  6. — Removal  of  District  Attorney. — A  district  attorney  failing  to 
faithfully  prosecute  a  person  charged  with  violation  in  his  county  of  any  pro- 
vision of  this  article  may  be  removed  from  office  by  the  governor. 

ARTICLE  XIV.— Amending  the  Constitution. 

Section  i. — Amendments,  How  Made. — An  amendment  to  the  constitution 
may  be  proposed  in  either  house  of  the  legislature,  and  must  be  passed  by  a 
majority  of  the  members  elected  to  each  house,  and  then  referred  to  the  legis- 
lature chosen  at  the  next  general  election  of  senators,  in  which  legislature  the 
proposed  amendment  must  again  pass  both  houses  as  before.  The  proposed 
amendment  is  to  be  then  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  State  for  adoption  or  re- 
jection. If  a  majority  of  the  voters  voting  on  the  proposed  amendment 
approve  it,  it  becomes  a  part  of  the  constitution. 

Section  2. — Revision  of  the  Constitution  by  Convention. — In  1 9 1 6  and  every 
twentieth  year  thereafter,  and  also  at  such  times  as  the  legislature  may  pro- 
vide, there  is  to  be  submitted  to  the  voters  the  question  :  "  Shall  there  be  a 
convention  to  revise  the  constitution  and  amend  the  same  ?  "  If  a  majority 
voting  decide  in  favor  of  the  proposed  convention,  the  voters  of  every  senate 
district  are  to  elect  three  delegates  and  the  voters  of  the  State  fifteen  dele- 
gates-at-large  to  such  a  convention.  Any  proposed  constitution  or  constitu- 
tional amendment  adopted  by  such  convention  must  be  submitted  to  the 
voters  of  the  State  and  adopted  or  rejected  by  majority  vote. 


PUBLIC  OFFICERS,  MODE   OF  APPOINTMENT,  TERM   OF 
OFFICE  AND   SALARIES. 


Officers. 
President. 
Vice  President. 
Secretary  of  State. 
Sec'y  of  the  Treasury. 
Sec'y  of  War. 
Attorney-General. 
Postmaster-General 
Sec'y  of  the  Navy. 
Sec'y  of  the  Interior. 
Sec'y  of  Agriculture. 
Sec'y  of  Com'ce  and  Lab. 
Civil  Service  Corn's. 
Interstate  Com'ce  Corn's. 
Librarian  of  Congress. 
Supreme  Court  Judges. 
Circuit  Court  Judges. 
District  Court  Judges. 
Judges  Court  of  Claims. 
Ambassadors. 
Ministers. 
Consuls. 

United  States  Senators. 
Representatives  in  Cong. 


Governor. 

Lieutenant  Governor. 

Secretary  of  State, 

Comptroller. 

Treasurer, 

Attorney-General. 

State  Engineer  and  Surv. 

State  Architect. 

Sup't  Public  Works. 

Sup't  of  Banks. 

Sup't  of  Insurance, 


United  States  Officers, 

Mode  of  Appointment 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
App.  by  Pres,  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App,  by  Pres.  and  Sen, 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen, 
App,  by  Pres.  and  Sen, 
App,  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Pres.  and  Sen. 
Elected  by  State  Leg. 
Elected  by  people. 

New   York  State  Officers. 

Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 
App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 


Term  of  Office. 

Salary. 

4  years. 

$  75,ooo. 

4  years. 

I2,000. 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,0OO, 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000, 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000. 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000, 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000, 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000. 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000. 

Will  of  Pres. 

I2,000, 

Will  of  Pres, 

I2,000. 

Will  of  Pres, 

4,ooo  to  4,500. 

7  years. 

10,000. 

Will  of  Pres. 

6,000. 

Dur.  good  behavior. 

12,500.^ 

Dur.  good  behavior. 

7,000. 

Dur.  good  behavior. 

6,000. 

Dur.  good  behavior. 

6,000.2 

Will  of  Pres. 

17,500. 

Will  of  Pres. 

5,000  to  12,000. 

Will  of  Pres. 

2,000  to  12,000, 

6  years. 

.      7,Soo- 

2  years. 

7,500. 

2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 

2  years. 
Will  of  Gov. 

Coin,  with  Gov. 

3  years. 
3  years. 


10,000. 
5,000, 
6,000. 
8,000. 
6,000. 

10,000. 
8,000, 
7.500, 
6,000, 
7,000, 
7,000, 


Chief  Justice  $  13,000, 


3  Chief  Judge  $  6,500, 


366 


PUBLIC   OFFICERS. 


367 


Officers. 

Mode  of  Appointment. 

Term  of  Office. 

Salary. 

Adjutant  General. 

App.  by  Governor. 

Coin,  with  Gov. 

$  5,500. 

Sup't  Public  Buildings. 

{  App.  by  Gov.,  Lieut.  Gov 
1          and  Speaker. 

■  2  years. 

5,000. 

State  Tax  Corn's. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

3  years. 

6,000. 

Commissioner  of  Excise. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

5  years. 

7,000. 

State  Com.  of  Health. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

4  years. 

5,000. 

State  Historian. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

Will  of  Gov. 

4,500. 

Public  Service  Corn's. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

5  years. 

15,000. 

Highway  Corn's. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

6  years. 

5,000  to  6,000. 

Civil  Service  Com's. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

Not  defined. 

3,000. 

Commissioner  of  Labor. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

4  years. 

5,000. 

Com.  of  Agriculture. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

3  years. 

6,000. 

Port  Wardens. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

3  years. 

Fees. 

Health  Ofc'r  Port  N.  Y. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

4  years. 

12,500. 

Regents  of  University. 

By  the  Legislature. 

12  years. 

None. 

Com.  of  Education. 

By  the  Regents. 

Will  of  Regents. 

7,500. 

For.  Fish  and  Game  Com. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

4  years. 

6,000. 

Sup't  State  Prisons. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

5  years. 

6,000. 

Com's.  of  Charities. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

8  years. 

50a 

Fisc.  Sup't  St.  Charities. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

5  years. 

6,000. 

Com's.  in  Lunacy. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

6  years. 

5,000107,500. 

Water  Supply  Com's. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Ssn. 

5  years. 

5,000. 

State  Senators. 

Elected  by  people. 

2  years. 

1,500.1 

Assemblymen. 

Elected  by  people. 

I  year. 

1,500.* 

Judges  Court  of  Appeals. 

Elected  by  people. 

14  years. 

13,700.' 

Supreme  Court  Judges. 

Elected  by  people. 

14  years. 

10,000.' 

Judges  Court  of  Claims. 

App.  by  Gov.  and  Sen. 

10  years. 

8,000. 

New   York  City  Officers. 

Mayor. 

Elected  by  people. 

4  years. 

$  15,000. 

Comptroller. 

Elected  by  people. 

4  years. 

15,000. 

Chamberlain. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

12,000. 

Corporation  Counsel. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

15,000. 

Police  Commissioner. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

5  years. 

7.500. 

Borough  Presidents. 

El.  by  people  of  bor. 

4  years. 

5,000  to  7,500. 

Com.  of  Water  Supply,  1 
Gas  and  Elect'y.      i 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

Com.  Street  Cleaning. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

Com.  of  Bridges. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

Com's.  of  Parks. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

5,000. 

Com.  of  Pub.  Charities. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

Com.  of  Correction. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

Fire  Commissioner. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

Com.  of  Docks. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7,500. 

1  And  mileage.  2  Chief  Justice  $  14,200. 

3  $  17,500  for  justices  elected  in  the  first  and  second  judicial  departments.  Justices  elected 
in  the  third  and  fourth  departments  receive  extra  compensation  for  service  in  the  appellate 
division  or  for  service  outside  their  own  district. 


368 


Officers. 


Pres.  B'd  Taxes  and  Ass. 
Members  B'd  Education. 
Com.  of  Health. 
Tenement  House  Com. 
Judges  Court  Gen.  Ses. 
Judges  City  Court. 
Judges  Municipal  Court. 
Judges  Court  Sp.  Ses. 
City  Magistrates. 
Aldermen. 

City  Clerk. 


APPENDIX. 

Mode  of  Appointment, 

.      Term  of 

■  Office. 

SalaR' 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure 

of  Mayor. 

8,000. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

5  years. 

None. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Pleasure  of  Mayor. 

7.500. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

7.500. 

Elected  by  people. 

14  years. 

15,000. 

Elected  by  people. 

ID  years. 

12,000. 

Elected  by  people. 

10  years. 

8,000.1 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

10  years. 

9,ooo.« 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

10  years. 

7,000.8 

Elected  by  people. 

2  years. 

2,000. 

1  Appointed    by    Board    ( 

j  6  years. 

1                Aldermen. 

7,«». 

Local  Officers  (^County). 


Sheriff. 

County  Judge. 
Surrogate. 
County  Clerk. 
Treasurer. 
District  Attorney. 
Coroners. 
Sup't  of  Poor. 

Sup't  of  Highways. 


Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Appointed  by  Board 
Supervisors. 


of 


3  years.  Fees.* 

6  years.  Fixed  by  Legislature. 

6  years.5  Varies  in  different  counties. 

3  years.  Fees.^ 

3  years.  Fixed  by  board  of  supervisors. 

3  years.^  Varies  in  different  counties. 

3  years.  Fees. 

3  years.  By  the  day,  or  Salary. 

4  years.  Fixed  by  board  of  supervisors. 


Local  Officers  {Town). 


Supervisor. 

Town  Clerk. 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Assessor. 

Sup't  of  Highways. 

Overseer  of  Poor. 

Collector. 

Constables. 

Inspectors  of  Elcct'n. 


Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 
Elected  by  people. 


2  years. 
2  years. 
4  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 
2  years. 


By  the  day.^ 

Fees. 

Fees. 

By  the  day. 

By  the  day. 

By  the  day. 

Percentage. 

Fees. 

By  the  day. 


1  $  7,000  in  Queens  and  Richmond. 
'  $6,000  in  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  Richmond. 
8  $  6,000  in  Brooklyn  and  $  5,000  in  Queens  and  Richmond. 

*  And  percentage  of  money  collected  on  executions.    In  some  counties  the  sheriff  receives 
a  salary  instead  of  fees. 
5  Fourteen  in  New  York  county. 
8  Salary  in  some  counties  fixed  by  legislature. 
"^  Four  years  in  New  York  and  Queens. 
8  Annual  salaries  in  a  few  counties. 


NEW  YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS. 

{N'umbers  in  parentheses  refer  to  pages  in  this  book.) 

PRELIMINARY   STEPS    (7-1 1). 

1.  Make  a  list  of  some  twenty  or  more  services  rendered  to  the  pupils  or 
their  families  by  some  governmental  unit  and  classify  these  as  rendered  by 
(a)  the  school  district,  {F)  the  town,  village  or  city,  (<r)  the  state,  {d)  the 
nation,  and  discuss  the  relative  importance  of  these  various  services  to  the 
well-being  of  the  pupil  (7-8). 

2.  Determine  why  these  services  are  not  left  to  the  individual  to  perform ; 
the  advantages  of  cooperation  ;  the  neccessity  of  some  surrender  of  individual 
control  in  any  organized  community  (9). 

3.  A  brief  resume  of  the  rise  of  cooperative  control  by  the  body  of  citizens 
in  our  own  country  as  seen  in  building  stockades,  roads,  schools,  supporting 
a  church,  etc.  (11). 

THE  SCHOOL  DISTRICT   (202-206). 

A  study  of  the  school  district  to  bring  out  the  following  points  :  I.  How 
composed  (202-203).  2.  Its  boundaries,  how  determined  (203).  3.  Its 
officers  and  the  duties  of  each  (205-206).  4.  Its  independence  of  town  and 
village  governments  (203-205).  5.  School  meetings  —  annual  and  special ; 
the  business  transacted  at  school  meetings  (204,  205).  6.  Union  free  school 
districts,  how  they  differ  from  common  school  districts  (206). 

THE  TOWN    (10-17,23-32). 

1.  The  study  of  the  activities  of  the  town  :  a  In  roadmaking  and  bridge 
building  ;  Importance  of  roads  to  the  farmer  ;  Good  and  bad  kinds  of 
road  ;  Share  of  the  county  and  of  the  state  in  roadmaking  and  maintenance 
(25-26).  b  The  care  of  the  poor  (26).  c  The  keeping  of  order  (26). 
d  The  town  meeting  :  Election  of  town  officers  (16,  23)  ;  Voting  of 
funds  (16-17). 

2.  The  town  officials  :  the  double  service  of  the  supervisor  ;  other  officials 
and  the  duties  of  each  (23-28). 

369 


370  NEW   YORK  SYLLABUS  LN  CIVICS. 

Note.  It  will  add  interest  and  reality  to  the  study,  if  the  officials  themselves 
will  meet  the  class  and  explain  the  nature  of  their  services  to  the  town.  At  any 
rate  legal  blanks  should  be  secured  from  the  different  officials  and  their  use  made 
clear. 

THE  VILLAGE    (33-41). 

1.  A  study  of  the  particular  natural  advantages  or  conditions  which  have 
caused  the  relatively  close  settling  of  a  number  of  families  in  a  small  area 
iZZ)'  The  new  conditions  made  necessary  by  such  centers  of  population  : 
a   Macadamized  or  paved  roads  (34,  38).      b   Sidewalks  and  curbs  (34,38). 

Sewers  (34,  38).  d  Street  lights  :  Whether  under  public  or  private  con- 
trol ;  Relative  advantages  ;  Method  in  other  villages  ;  Cost  (34,  39-40). 
e  Water  supply  :  Public  or  private  ;  Relative  advantages  ;  Methods  in 
other  villages  ;  Cost  (34,  39-40).  /  Removal  of  refuse  (34,  39).  g  Street 
cleaning  (34,  38).  h  Fire  protection  :  Volunteers  or  paid  department 
(34?  40).  i  Care  of  the  public  health  (34,  37-38).  /  Administration  of 
justice  (38).     k  Graded  and  higher  schools  (34,202,206). 

2.  Classes  of  villages,;  the  village  charter,  class  to  which  the  pupils'  village 
belongs  (35).  The  village  officials  ;  the  terms  of  office  ai)d  duties  of  each 
(36-38). 

3.  Election  of  the  village  officers  ;  Time,  and  reason  for  it   (36). 

THE  CITY    (42-61,62-79). 

1.  A  study  of  natural  advantages  and  other  conditions  which  have  caused 
the  pupil's  place  of  residence  to  become  a  city  (6l  ;   cf.  '}i'^' 

2.  The  street  the  central  element  of  city  life  (53).  How  the  activities  and 
conditions  named  in  3  to  7  are  cared  for  in  the  student's  home  city  ;  what 
official  is  responsible  for  each  activity;  how  he  gets  his  position  ;  how  he  may 
be  made  to  perform  his  function  properly;  and,  throughout,  a  comparison  with 
the  practices  of  other  cities  within  and  without  the  state  (61,  48-54,  71,  etc.), 

3.  The  laying  out  (including  condemnation  proceedings)  of  streets ; 
their  paving  and  maintenance  ;  kinds  and  cost  of  surface  ;  right  to  tear  up 
pavement  ;  duty  to  replace  ;  sidewalks  and  curbs  ;  cleaning  of  sidewalks  ; 
traffic  regulations  (53-54,  52). 

4.  Bridges;   to  be  studied  in  the  main  as  roads  (53). 

5.  Other  utilities  found  on,  in  or  under  the  streets :  a  Sewers  and  sewage 
disposal;  Comparison  of  methods  (54,  53).  b  Street  lights;  how  supplied 
(55).  c  Gas  mains  and  connections  (54).  ^  Electric  wires;  pole  or  conduit 
system  (54,  55).  e  Water  mains  and  connections  (54).  /  Transportation 
lines;  surface,  elevated  or  subway  (55).  g  Steam  railways  in  streets;  grade 
crossings  (55). 


NEW  YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS.  371 

6.  Street  cleaning;   snow  removal  (56). 

7.  In  the  case  of  each  of  the  foregoing  utilities  a  discussion  (if  apposite) 
of  public  versus  private  ownership.  In  case  of  the  latter  a  discussion  of  the 
obtaining  of  the  franchise.  The  welfare  of  the  community  as  dependent  upon 
the  proper  management  of  these  utilities.     (55.) 

8.  The  rights  and  duties  of  citizens  on  the  streets  (52). 

9.  Building  laws  and  permits.  Peculiar  problems  of  city  life  arising  from 
the  existence  of  tenement  houses,  high  buildings;    how  met  and  regulated 

(5^57). 

10.  Fire  department;   effect  of  its  efficiency  on  insurance  rates  (42,  56). 

11.  Police  work;   preventive,  protective  (42). 

12.  The  school  system;  appointment  of  teachers;  compulsory  school  law 
and  its  enforcement  (207-209). 

13.  Parksand  recreation  centers;  baths;  washhouses  (57).  14.  Museums, 
lectures,  free  concerts  (57).  15.  Care  of  the  poor;  city  institutions  (57). 
16.  Care  of  the  sick  and  injured  (57).  17.  City  courts;  civil  and  criminal; 
juvenile;  relation  to  county  and  state  courts  (49).  18.  City  penal  institu- 
tions (49). 

19.  City  finances:  a  The  cost  of  the  services  mentioned  in  10-18  (57-58). 
b  Sources  of  revenue :  licenses,  fines,  fees,  rentals  of  public  property,  taxes, 
special  assessments  (58).  c  Assessments  for  taxation  purposes;  The  real 
estate  and  personal  tax,  with  reasons  for  growing  neglect  of  latter  (58-59). 
d  The  tax  rate;  City  rate  as  compared  with  state  and  federal  taxes  (59). 
e  Making  the  budget;  Revenues  and  expenses  for  the  last  financial  year  (59). 
f  City  debt;  limitations.    (50,) 

20.  Systematic  outline  of  the  framework  of  the  city  government  with  a  tab- 
ulation of  the  chief  officials  and  their  duties,  where  feasible  using  the  city  char- 
ter as  a  guide  (61,  47-49,  51,  65-78).  Officials  removable  by  state  authority 
(70,  73).     Classification  of  officials  as  legislative,  executive  or  judical  (47-49). 

21.  Choosing  of  above  officials.  City  elections;  when  held,  and  why  at 
that  time.  National  party  lines  usually  not  drawn  in  city  affairs.  Duty  of  the 
citizen  to  take  part  in  organized  city  politics.     (47,  53.) 

22.  Classes  of  cities  (47).  Qassification  of  the  student's  city.  The  charter; 
how  obtained ;  its  functions  ;  changes  in  the  charter,  how  made  (43). 

23.  Comparison  of  general  systems  of  city  government.  The  commission 
plan  (Des  Moines,  Galveston).    Need  of  fixing  responsibility.    (52.) 

THE  COUNTY   (80,  85-93,  181-188,  193). 

The  county  has  hitherto  been  largely  ignored  in  the  study  of  civics.  The 
collection  of  its  taxes  at  the  same  time  and  on  the  same  bill  as  the  local  tax 


372  NEU^   YORK  SVLLABUS  IN  CIVICS. 

leads  to  this.  It  has  important  distinctive  services.  Many  cases  at  law  go 
to  county  courts.  Registration  of  deeds  and  mortgages,  probate  and  adminis- 
tration of  wills  are  county  functions.  Also  the  main  highways  and  bridges  are 
chiefly  under  county  control  outside  the  great  cities.  The  county  is  responsible 
for  the  preservation  of  order. 

1.  City  counties.  Some  cities  are  identical  in  boundaries  vf\\.\i  a  county  [in 
other  states]  ;  others  (New  York  city)  include  several  counties  (64).  In  such 
cases  city  and  county  government  in  part  coincide,  and  certain  county  officials 
are  replaced  by  city  officials  (75-76). 

2.  County  officials :  duties  of  each;  how  chosen;  how  removed  (86-91). 

3.  County  finances :  a  The  expenses  of  the  county  (92).  b  The  county 
tax;  how  levied;  how  collected  (215-218). 

4.  The  judicial  system:  a  The  grand  jury :  composition;  selection;  duties 
(indictment,  presentment);  mode  of  procedure  (181-183).  b  The  trial  or 
petty  jury :  lists  of  jurors,  and  how  made;  liability  to  jury  duty,  and  exemption 
therefrom;  duty  of  the  citizen  to  serve  as  a  juror  ;  selection  of  the  panel;  num- 
ber; requirement  of  unanimous  verdict;  pay  of  jurors  (185-186,  188).  c  Duty 
of  district  attorney  (89,  184, 185).  d  Duties  and  jurisdiction  of  county  judge 
(90,  193).  e  Duties  of  sheriff ;  in  execution  of  civil  judgments  and  criminal 
sentences  ;  preservation  of  order;  iht  posse  comitatus  (88-89).  f  The  crime 
of  perjury  (188). 

THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  STATE  (118-237). 

I.  The  Constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York. — A.  By  whom 
established;  why  established;  how  established;  by  whom  drafted  (113, 
118-119). 

B.  Importance  of  the  Constitution  as  the  fundamental  law  seen:  i.  In 
guaranteeing  personal  rights  (119,  125-132,  349-350).  2.  In  determining 
suffrage  rights  and  the  manner  and  the  time  of  voting  (119,  350-351).  3.  In 
creating  legislative  bodies,  defining  their  duties  and  limiting  their  action  (i  19, 
351-356).  4.  In  creating  executive  and  administrative  offices  and  defining 
the  duties  thereof  (119,  356-358).  5.  In  creating  state  and  local  courts 
(119,  358-360).  6.  In  safeguarding  state  and  local  credit  and  caring  for 
public  property  and  public  institutions  (119,  360-362).  7.  In  providing  free 
schools  and  academies  (119,  362).  8.  In  providing  for  its  own  amendment 
(120,  365). 

II.  Activities  of  the  State. — ^The  state  the  greater  regulator  of  our 
everyday  life,  as  shown 

A.   In  its  creation  and  control  of:    i.   The  school  district,  the  town,  city 


NEW    YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS.  373 

and  county,  with  their  close  relation  to  our  daily  life  as  already  shown  (95,  29, 
34-35,  43,  85).  2.  The  personnel  of  the  voting  body,  by  fixing  their  qualifi- 
cations, even  those  of  voters  for  federal  officers  (135-136,  139).  3.  The  num- 
ber, kind  and  qualifications  of  the  elective  and  appointive  officers  of  the  lesser 
units,  including  the  power  of  removing  many  city  and  county  officials  by  state 
authority  (95,  70,  73,  88,  i6i). 

B.  In  its  enactment  and  enforcement  of  the  great  majority  of  the  laws 
which  govern  the  citizen  in  his  daily  life,  such  as :  i.  Creation  and  safeguard- 
ing of  all  civil  and  property  rights;  with  regulation  of  transfers  and  inherit- 
ances (96-97,  323).  2.  Creation  and  control  (save  for  interstate  commerce) 
of  all  corporations  (97,  220).  3.  Special  control  of  all  banks  and  trust  com- 
panies save  national  banks,  and  of  all  insurance  companies  and  building  and 
loan  associations  (221,  173).  4.  Control  of  all  common  carriers  so  far  as 
traffic  within  the  state  is  concerned  (97,  174).  5.  License  and  control  of 
the  liquor  business  (97).  6.  Sanitary  regulation  (97).  7.  Exercise  the 
right  of  eminent  domain  (96,  129-130).     8.    Supervision  of  education  (97). 

9.  Authorization  of  the  levying  of  all  taxes  for  state  and  local  purposes  (97). 

10.  Provision  for  certain  portions  of  the  defective,  dependent  and  delinquent 
classes  (97). 

III.  Organization  of  Government. — ^These  various  activities  of  the  State, 
as  of  the  local  unit,  require  for  their  exercise  the  three  organs  of  government : 
the  lawmaking,  the  law  interpreting,  and  the  law  enforcing;  or  the  legislative, 
judicial,  and  executive  departments  (141-142). 

A.  The  state  legislative  department. — i.  The  state  Legislature: 
a  The  source  of  the  lawmaking  power,  representing  "  people  of  the  state  of 
New  York"  (145). 

b  The  Legislature  divided  into  two  houses;  advantages;  disadvantages 
(145-146). 

c  Composition  of  Senate ;   how  elected;   compensation  (143-145). 

d  Composition  of  Assembly;  apportionment;  the  state  census;  election; 
compensation  (143-145,  149-152). 

e  The  Assembly  at  work :  (i)  Organization:  (a)  The  Speaker:  his  elec- 
tion; the  party  caucus;  powers  of  the  Speaker;  in  the  appointment  of  com- 
mittees; in  his  "recognition"  of  members;  in  his  chairmanship  of  the 
committee  on  rules;  {b)  The  Clerk;  (<r)  Minor  officers  (144,  15;^,  154). 
(2)  Making  a  law;  distinction  between  a  legislative  bill  and  a  law  (153). 
{a)  Safeguards  against  hasty  and  ill-considered  legislation :  Introduction 
of  a  bill — its  sponsor  (153);  Printing  and  publicity  (154,  155,  157);  The 
three   readings  on   three  different  days   (153,   156);    Reference  to  a  com- 


374  NEW    YORK  SYLLABUS  hV  CIVICS. 

mittee  that  discusses,  may  amend  and  may  give  public  hearings  (153,  154- 
155);  Revision,  if  necessary,  by  special  revision  committee  (156,  note); 
Report  of  bill  by  its  committee  to  house;  possible  debate,  amendment 
and  recommittal  to  original  committee  or  some  other  committee  (155-156). 

Note.  All  legislative  bills  must  pass  both  houses,  each  of  which  takes  similar 
precautions  before  it  goes  to  the  Governor,  who  may  seek  expert  advice,  and  give 
public  hearings  before  making  a  bill  a  law  by  his  signature. 

(^)  Legislative  committees:  majority  and  minority  composition;  the  prin- 
cipal committees;  the  great  advantage  of  committees  (154,  155).  {c)  Ma- 
jority and  minority  leaders  in  the  Assembly;  advantages  of  this  leadership 
(153).     {d)  The  Speaker  and  Clerk,  their  services  (153,  154). 

/  The  Senate  at  work:  (i)  Organization:  (a)  The  Lieutenant  Governor 
as  presiding  officer;  his  voting  power;  influence  compared  with  that  of 
the  speaker  of  Assembly;  {b)  The  President  pro  tempore ;  {c)  The  Clerk; 
{d)  Minor  officers  (144,  153,  154).  (2)  The  course  of  a  bill;  similar  pro- 
cedure to  that  of  the  Assembly  (157).  Bills  may  originate  in  either  house 
\^see  Constitutional  limitation  of  right  to  originate  money  bills  to  lower  house 
in  Congress],  and  from  it  pass  to  the  other  house  (157,  281).  Conference 
committees  where  the  two  houses  fail  at  first  to  agree  on  a  measure  (157). 
[For  course  of  a  bill  after  it  leaves  the  Legislature  see  powers  of  governor.] 

g  Legislative  commissions :  joint,  or  of  either  house,  for  investigating  any 
matter  whatsoever  within  compass  of  state  legislation  (155). 

h  Powers  peculiar  to  each  house:  (i)  Assembly  may  present  impeach- 
ments of  high  state  officials  (161).  (2)  The  Senate,  with  the  justices  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  the  court  for  trial  of  impeachments  (161).  The  right  of 
confirmation  or  rejection  of  appointments  by  the  Governor  (161-162). 

i  Powers  common  to  the  two  houses:  In  joint  session  to  elect  United 
States  senators  (161,  276-277),  and  regents  (170-171). 

j  General  powers  of  the  Legislature :  Limited  only  by  federal  and  state 
constitutions;  otherwise,  may  pass  any  law  it  pleases.  Scope  of  state  legisla- 
tion therefore  much  more  varied  than  that  of  federal  legislation.     (266-267.) 

B.  The  state  executive. — i.  The  Governor.  Overshadowing  impor- 
tance of  Governor;   due  to : 

a  His  share  in  legislation,  as  shown  by :  (i)  Regular  and  special  messages 
to  the  Legislature  (167).  (2)  Power  to  call  special  sessions  of  Legislature 
which  have  the  right  to  deal  only  with  measures  indicated  in  special  call 
(166-167).  (3)  Power  over  a  bill  which  has  passed  the  Senate  and  Assem- 
bly: three  ways  in  which  a  Governor  may  treat  a  bill;  the  power  to  veto 
single  items  of  an  appropriation  bill  (157-158). 


NEW    YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS.  375 

h  His  executive  powers  as  shown  by :  (i)  Appointment  of  a  large  number 
of  administrative  officials  and  boards  charged  with  the  duty  of  carrying  out 
the  laws  of  the  state  — 18  such  departments,  the  more  important  of  which 
are:  {a)  Commissioner  of  Excise;  (Ji)  Civil  Service  Commission;  {c)  Com- 
missioner of  Labor;  (a')  Public  Service  Commissions,  one  for  metro- 
politan district,  one  for  remainder  of  state;  {/)  Superintendent  of  Banks; 
(/)  Superintendent  of  Insurance  (170,  173-175).  (2)  Power  of  removal  of 
certain  state  officers  with  consent  of  the  Senate  (168,  170);  and  of  certain 
county  and  city  officers  independently  (70,  73,  88).  (3)  Control  of  the  militia 
(171).  (4)  Power  to  assign  justices  to  special  duties  (196).  (5)  Power  to 
fill  vacancies  in  certain  judicial,  county  and  state  offices  (170)  and  to  appoint 
a  United  States  senator  to  a  vacant  seat  pending  election  (277). 

c  His  judicial  powers  as  shown  by :  Right  of  reprieve,  commutation  and 
pardon.     (Boards  of  pardon  in  some  other  states.)     (167.) 

2.  Elective  executive  officials:  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  Secretary 
of  State,  Comptroller,  Treasurer,  Attorney  General,  State  Engineer  and  Sur- 
veyor. Election,  term  (166,  167,  168);  general  duties  (167-170);  removal 
by  impeachment  (161).  Executive  power  of  the  state  divided,  or  in  com- 
mission, because  these  elective  officials  may  be  of  different  parties.  Lesser 
officials  independent  of  Governor;  in  no  sense  a  cabinet;  advantage  or  dis- 
advantage of  this  arrangement  (175-176). 

3.  The  State  Education  Department,  a  The  Education  Department  em- 
braces in  its  jurisdiction  the  entire  field  of  educational  supervision  and  ad- 
ministration. It  is  governed  by  a  Board  of  Regents  and  a  Commissioner  of 
Education.  The  Commissioner  of  Education  appoints  three  assistant  com- 
missioners each  of  whom  has  charge  respectively  of  higher,  secondary  and 
elementary  education.  Statutory  provisions  in  regard  to  education  and  state 
appropriations  for  educational  purposes  are,  of  course,  made  by  the  Legisla- 
ture but  numerous  legislative  powers  over  matters  of  detail  are  delegated  to 
the  Board  of  Regents,  and  full  executive  and  administrative  powers  are 
intrusted  to  the  Commissioner  of  Education  both  by  the  Legislature  and  by 
the  Board  of  Regents.  The  Commissioner  of  Education  also  acts  as  chief 
judicial  officer  in  all  questions  of  law  pertaining  exclusively  to  the  public 
school  system. 

b  The  Board  of  Regents,  (i)  How  constituted  :  number;  choice;  term 
of  office;  when  established;  original  purpose  (210).  (2)  Duties:  {a') 
Confirmation  of  appointments  ;  {!>)  Granting  of  charters  ;  {c)  Visitation  and 
examination ;  (^)  Care  of  the  State  Library  and  the  State  Museum  ;  (er) 
Care  of  public  libraries  and  educational  extension  ;  (/)  Supervision  of  aca- 
demic and  professional  degrees  (210,  211). 


376  NEW   YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS. 

^  The  Commissioner  of  Education,  (i)  How  chosen  (211).  (2)  Duties: 
{a)  Appointment  of  subordinates ;  (<J)  General  supervision  of  schools,  school 
officials  and  educational  institutions  ;  (r)  Distribution  of  state  appropriations 
for  education ;  (^d)  Judicial  powers,  original  and  appellate  :  interpreting 
school  laws;    deciding  appeals  (211,  202,  207,  209). 

C.  The  state  judiciary.  Has  jurisdiction  in  cases  beyond  the  power  of 
inferior  and  county  courts,  and  on  appeal  from  such.  i.  The  Supreme  Court; 
judicial  districts;  election  of  justices;  their  number  and  term  (194).  2. 
Appellate  divisions  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  number  ;  how  justices  are  assigned 
to  each  (196).  3.  The  Court  of  Appeals;  judges;  their  election,  number 
and  term;  jurisdiction  (197).  4.  The  Court  of  Claims  ;  constitutional  reason 
for  it  (199). 

IV.  Instruments  of  Government. — A.  Finances,  i.  State  budget : 
expenses  for  a  State  administrative  departments  ;  b  The  Legislature  ;  c  The 
Judiciary ;  d  Prisons ;  reformatories ;  e  Charity  ;  /  Education  ;  g  The 
militia;  A  Public  works  (160).  2.  Revenues,  from  taxes  on  :  a  Organiza- 
tion of  corporations  ;  b  Current  business  of  corporations  ;  c  Inheritances ; 
d  Transfers  of  stocks  ;  e  Liquor  traffic  ;  /  Property  (219-220).  Latter  very 
slight  in  New  York  state ;  required  by  Constitution  to  meet  state  debt. 
Favorable  position  of  New  York  state  in  matter  of  property  tax ;  reasons. 
How  apportioned  and  collected.  (220,  214-219.)  3.  The  state  debt  (222). 
Revenues  sufficient  for  ordinary  expenses  (219). 

£.  State  control  of  elections.  All  elections,  even  of  federal  officials, 
under  state  law  (233,  note).  i.  The  franchise;  meaning  of  suffrage; 
who  may  vote;  disqualifications  (135-139),  2.  Election  districts  (229-230) : 
a  The  state  one  district  for  federal  officials  ^  and  for  major  state  officials ; 
b  Congressional ;  c  Judicial ;  d  Senatorial ;  e  Assembly  ;  ^  /  County  ; 
g  School  commissioner  ;  h  Village ;  i  School  district ;  j  City;  k  Borough  ; 
/  Aldermanic  ;  Pupil's  district  for  each  of  above  elections  (237,  279,  195,  148, 
66).  3.  Time  of  election  in  each  of  above  districts;  Reasons  for  separating 
local  elections  as  far  as  possible  from  state  and  federal  elections  (230,  235, 
15,  36,  47,  204).  4.  Nominations  :  party  organization  in  election  districts; 
the  leader  ;  the  primary  ;  party  enrollment  at  registration  ;  the  direct  primary  ; 
nomination  by  petition  ;  the  ascending  scale  of  committees  and  conventions ; 
party  platforms  (227-229,  236).  5.  Registrations  ;  why  more  important  in 
cities  than  in  rural  districts  (230).  6.  Voting  :  the  polling  places  ;  prepara- 
tion of  the  ballots  ;  form  of  ballot ;  reasons  for  secret  ballot ;  marking  the 
ballot ;  straight  ticket ;    split  ticket ;    election  officers  at  the  polls ;   challeng- 

*  Presidential  electors. 


NEW    YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS.  377 

ing  a  vote  ;  demand  for  a  shorter  ballot ;  the  Massachusetts  form  ;  voting 
machines  (230-232,  235).  7.  Countiiig  the  vote;  disposition  of  ballots; 
canvassing  the  votes;  certificates  of  election  (233).  8.  Majority  and  plu- 
rality; practice  of  this  state  ;  of  other  states  (233).  9.  Election  expenses  ; 
how  far  legitimate ;  sworn  statements  by  candidates ;  campaign  funds ; 
publicity;  how  raised ;  for  what  used  (234-235).  lo.  Bribery;  viciousness 
of;    laws  against  (234). 

V.  Comparison  of  State  Governments.  Newer  state  constitutions  tend 
to  become  much  more  extensive  than  those  of  older  states  (Oklahoma  an 
extreme  case).  Reason  for  this  ;  distrust  of  state  Legislatures.  Wide  di- 
versity of  laws  in  the  46  states ;  evils  of  this ;  the  newly  formed  and  extra- 
constitutional  "  House  of  Governors,"  an  attempt  to  lessen  this  evil.     (159.) 

THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT    (238-322). 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  its  adoption  embodied 
the  political  wisdom  of  the  ages.  More  profoundly,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
political  document,  it  has  influenced  the  world  at  large.  It  is  the  govern- 
mental framework  of  a  mighty  and  growing  world  power.  It  has  stood  the 
test  of  time  and  "  the  shock  of  civil  war."  During  the  19th  century  the  world 
changed  its  modes  of  life  and  business  more,  it  may  be,  than  in  all  the  historic 
centuries  preceding;  but  so  adaptive  is  the  Constitution  of  1789,  that  only  a 
few  of  its  minor  provisions,  to  be  amended  in  the  right  time  and  in  the 
right  way,  may  be  questioned.  Such  a  constitution  is  worth  living  under, 
worth  dying  for,  and  eminently  worth  studying.  It  should  be  studied  as  his- 
tory in  its  proper  sequence  and  in  its  fundamental  relations,  for  only  thus  can 
the  growth  of  the  United  States  into  a  great  political  power  be  understood. 
The  Constitution  should  be  studied  a  second  time  as  civics,  as  the  guide  and 
supreme  law  of  present  national  life. 

I.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States. — A.  Its  authority  and 
purposes  as  disclosed  in  the  preamble  (337)-  B.  Its  general  scope  and 
limitations  [^see  specially  art.  I,  §  8,  last  paragraph  and  amendments  IX  and 
X]  (340  paragraph  18,  345,  346).      C.   Creations  of  the  Constitution; 

I.  The  legislative  department :  the  two  houses  (337) ;  the  duties  prescribed 
for  each  house  (338,  339) ;  the  special  privileges  and  disabilities  of  the  mem- 
bers of  each  house  (339).  a  The  House  of  Representatives  :  (i)  Its  mem- 
bers: qualifications;  terms  of  office  ;  distribution;  mode  of  election  (337); 
(2)  Special  powers  of  the  House  (338,  339).  b  The  Senate  :  (i)  Its  mem- 
bers :  qualifications;  term  of  office;  distribution;  mode  of  election  (338); 
(2)  Special  powers  of  the  Senate  (338,  342).      c  The  method  of  lawmak- 


378  NEW    YORK   SYLLABUS  IN   CIVICS. 

ing  (339).  d  Powers  granted  to  Congress :  peace  powers  (339-340>  343»  344» 
346,  347);  vvar  powers  (340);  implied  powers  (340).  e  Prohibitions  on 
Congress  guarding  (i)  personal  rights  (341,  345),  (2)  state  rights  (341, 
346),  (3)  public  credit  (341,  344,  347),  (4)  the  democratic  ideal  (341,  345) » 
(5)  religious  freedom  (345). 

2.  The  executive  department:  a  The  President:  qualifications  (342); 
term  of  office  (341);  mode  of  election :  (i)  original  (341,  291,  note),  (2)  as 
fixed  by  amendment  XII  (346).  b  Powers  and  duties  of  the  President: 
executive  (342-343);  legislative  (339,  342);  judicial  (342).  «:  The  Vice 
President :  qualifications  (same  as  those  of  president,  342) ;  term  of  office 
(341);  mode  of  election:  (i)  original  (341,  291  note),  (2)  as  fixed  by 
amendment  XII  (346).     d  Duties  of  the  Vice  President  (338,  342). 

3.  The  judicial  department :  ^  The  Court  of  Impeachment  (338).  /J  The 
Supreme  Court :  (l)  The  judges,  how  appointed  (342);  number  and  salary, 
how  determined  (343,  340  paragraph  i8);  (2)  Jurisdiction:  original;  ap- 
pellate (343).     c  Inferior  courts,  how  provided  (340,  343). 

D.  Prohibitions  on  state  Legislatures  (341,  346,  347).  E.  Guarantees  to 
the  states  (344).  F.  Guarantees  of  personal  rights  (345,  346).  G.  The 
formation  and  admission  of  states  (344).  H.  Provisions  for  amendments: 
how  proposed,  two  methods;  how  ratified,  two  methods  (344).  /.  Miscel- 
laneous provisions:  definition  of  treason;  the  debts  of  the  Confederation; 
the  oath  of  office  (343,  344).    />   The  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  (344). 

II.  The  Federal  Government  in  its  Relations  with  the  People. 
Delegation  to  the  federal  government  by  "  the  people  of  the  United  States  " 
of  such  powers  as  they  judged  to  be  essential  for  the  establishment  of  a  nation. 
Control  of  the  people  by  ihe  federal  government  direct,  not  through  the 
states,  save  in  the  case  of  elections  (252-255).  Contact  of  the  citizen  with 
federal  activities : 

A.  Most  obvious  of  these  in  everyday  life:  i.  The  currency  (8,  262-263). 
2.   The  postal  service  (8,  262,  290). 

B.  Less  obvious:  i.  Taxation:  {a)  Duties  on  imported  goods;  with 
incidental  effect  on  price  of  domestic  goods  (214).  {F)  Internal  revenue; 
on  liquors,  tobacco  etc.  (214).  2.  Control  of  interstate  commerce;  railway 
rates;   pure  food  laws  (261). 

C.  Still  less  personal,  but  with  the  possibility  of  affecting  the  individual  at 
any  time,  the  control  of  the  federal  government  over :  i.  All  foreign  relations 
(257).  2.  War  and  peace;  the  necessary  army  and  navy;  treaties,  commer- 
cial and  other  (258,  286,  287).  3.  Patents  and  copyrights  (263).  4.  Stand- 
ards  of  weights  and  measures  (conformity  with    these,  however,  a  matter 


NEIV    YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS.  379 

of  state  regulation)  (263).  5.  Naturalization  (135-137).  6.  Bankruptcy 
(261).  7.  Property  rights  through  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  by  the 
courts  as  applied  to  acts  of  Congress  and  of  state  Legislatures  (296). 

III.  The  Organization  of  the  Federal  Government.  As  in  the  state 
and  its  subdivisions  the  three  great  departments  are  required:  legislative, 
executive,  judicial.  Clearer  separation  of  these  in  the  United  States  than 
m  most  other  nations;   comparison  with  Great  Britain.     (275.) 

A.  The  legislative  department,  i.  The  organic  law^:  The  Constitu- 
tion :  how  adopted  (248-249) ;  Amendments  to  it  [for  "  unwritten  Constitu- 
tion" see  VII]  (268-271,  291).     2.   The  Congress:   two  houses  (275)  : 

<z  The  House  of  Representatives :  number;  qualifications;  election;  term* 
compensation;  apportionment  to  states;  the  federal  census;  representatives 
at  large.     House  represents  national  idea.     (278-280.) 

b  The  Senate:  number;  qualifications;  election;  term;  compensation; 
vacancies,  how  filled.  Senate  represents  federal  idea.  Demand  for  popular 
election  of  senators :  its  practical  accomplishment  in  certain  states  (276-277, 
280). 

c  The  House  of  Representatives  at  work:  (i)  In  the  main  the  outline  of 
the  methods  of  the  Assembly  of  the  state  of  New  York  will  be  a  sufficient 
guide,  but  requiring  special  attention  are :  (2)  The  power  of  the  Speaker, 
making  him  a  figure  of  national  importance  second  only  to  the  President 
(282);  (3)  the  rules  of  the  House;  "filibustering";  "  Leave  to  print "  (283) ; 
(4)  The  names  and  functions  of  the  more  important  committees  (281-282). 

</ The  Senate  at  work:  (i)  The  relative  dignity  of  the  Senate  (283). 
(2)  "The  courtesy  of  the  Senate"  (285).  (3)  The  more  important  com- 
mittees and  their  functions  (281-282).     (4)  The  leader  of  the  majority  (283). 

e  Special  powers  of  the  House:  (i)  Origination  of  all  money  bills; 
largely  overridden  by  free  power  of  amendment  in  the  Senate  (281). 
(2)   Presentation  of  impeachments  (292). 

/Special  powers  of  the  Senate:  (i)  Ratification  or  rejection  of  presi- 
dential appointments;  Executive  session  (284).  (2)  Trial  of  impeachments; 
procedure  in  impeachment  in  President  (292).  (3)  Ratification  of  treaties 
(284,  287). 

,  g  General  scope  of  powers  of  Congress :  Closely  limited  by  the  Constitu- 
tion (255),  but  Effect  of  "the  elastic  clause"  ;  what  it  is;  how  its  interpre- 
tation affects  federal  legislation  (266).  Enumeration  of  powers:  [j^^  art.  i, 
§  8  of  the  Constitution]  (255-266,  339-340). 

B.  The  executive  department,  i.  The  President  and  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent;   their  nomination  (228,  300);    qualifications  (286);    election  (291); 


38o  NEW    YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS. 

procedure  in  case  of  failure  to  elect  (291-292);  ihe  electoral  college,  its 
functions,  departure  of  college  from  original  idea  {see  unwritten  Constitution] 
(291,  3CX));  term  of  president,  discussion  of  its  length,  reelection  [unwritten 
Constitution]  (286,  3CX));  compensation  (286);  law  fixing  the  right  of 
succession  to  presidency  (292) ;   Functions  of  the  President  : 

a  Legislative,  as  shown  by:  (i)  Messages,  annual  and  special  (287). 
(2)  Summoning  of  extra  sessions  (287).  (3)  Power  of  veto;  Compare 
with  that  of  Governor:  Can  not  veto  single  items;  "riders"  (283-284). 
(4)  Party  leadership;  control  of  legislation  through  appointing  power  and 
through  popular  support  (301). 

b  Judicial,  as  shown  by:  (i)  Reprieve,  commutation,  pardon  (286). 
•  c  Executive,  as  shown  by:  (i)  Duty  to  enforce  all  federal  laws  (286); 
(2)  Command  of  army,  navy  and  militia  in  federal  service  in  time  of 
war  (286);  (3)  Power  to  negotiate  treaties  (287);  (4)  Appointment  and 
reception  of  ambassadors  and  ministers  (287);  (5)  Appointment  of 
federal  administrative  officials;  officers  of  army  and  navy;  postmasters;  and 
especially  of  heads  of  executive  departments,  collectively  known  as  the 
Cabinet  (286,  288);  (6)  Appointment  of  United  States  justices  (293-294); 
(7)  Appointment  of  commissions,  standing  and  occasional;  interstate  com- 
merce;  growing  importance;   tariff  commission  (291,  260-261). 

2.  The  Cabinet,  a  Development  of  the  Cabinet  as  a  body  of  presi- 
dential advisers.  Term  "cabinet"  unknown  to  Constitution;  may  advise,  can 
not  control  president.  Importance  of  their  selection;  their  removal  from 
office.  Not  members  of  Congress;  contrast  with  British,  French  and  German 
systems  (301).  b  Personnel  and  functions  of  the  Cabinet;  the  departments 
of  the  Cabinet  and  the  services  rendered  by  each  (288-290). 

C.  The  FEDERAL  JUDICIARY:  I.  The  Supreme  Court;  authorized  in  Con- 
stitution; dignity  of;  when  it  may  adjudicate  upon  the  constitutionality  of  an 
act  of  Congress;  its  composition  and  appointment  (293-296).  2.  Circuit 
Courts;  number;  the  justices;  appointment;  number  (293-295).  3.  District 
Courts;  number;  the  justices;  appointment  (293-294).  United  States  dis- 
trict attorneys  and  marshals  (296).  4.  Qasses  of  cases  under  jurisdiction  of 
federal  courts  (293-296). 

IV.  Federal  Finances:  Instruments  of  Government. — A,  Revenues, 
from:  (i)  Customs;  (2)  Internal  revenues;  (3)  Sale  of  public  property  (298), 
B.  Expenditures,  for:  (i)  Various  administrative  departments  of  govern- 
ment, (2)  Army,  (3)  Navy,  (4)  Post  office — nearly  self-supporting,  (5)  Pen- 
sions, (6)  Indians,  (7)  Public  works,  (8)  Redemption  and  interest  of  public 
debt  (298).  C  The  public  debt:  (i)  Amount;  how  created;  how  met; 
(2)  Comparison  with  foreign  debts  (298-299,  259-260). 


NEW    YORK  SYLLABUS  IN  CIVICS.  3S1 

V.  Review  of  Federal  and  State  Powers. — A.  Powers  vested  in  fed- 
eral government  only  (256-263).  B.  Powers  vested  in  states  only  (266). 
C.  Concurrent  powers  (256).  D.  Powers  whose  exercise  is  forbidden  to  the 
federal  government  (267-270).  E.  Powers  whose  exercise  is  forbidden  to 
the  states  (270).  F.  Powers  reserved  to  the  people,  and  exercisable  only  by 
the  process  of  constitutional  amendment  (126-130,  254,  255,  267-270).  G. 
Under  what  conditions  the  federal  government  may  be  called  upon  to  protect 
a  state  against  domestic  violence  (271).  H.  Guarantee  to  each  state  by  the 
federal  government  of  a  republican  form  of  government  (271). 

VI.  Supremacy  of  Federal  Government. — A.  State  may  not  contravene 
United  States  law  or  treaty  (254-255).  B.  Fourteenth  amendment  to  Con- 
stitution; decides  first  as  to  what  constitutes  federal  citizenship;  state  citizen- 
ship dependent  on  federal;  naturalization  a  federal  function  (299,  135).  C 
Citizen's  allegiance  not  divided;  but  double;  primarily  to  the  United  States 
(299). 

VII.  Gro\vth  or  Development  of  Government  seen  in:  A.  Amend- 
ments. B.  The  unwritten  Constitution;  Ours  theoretically  a  strictly  written 
Constitution;  contrast  with  unwritten  Constitution  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  (115,  299-300).  Precedents  which  have  hardened 
into  unwritten  constitutional  provisions  in  the  United  States:  (ij  The  func- 
tions of  the  electoral  college ;  (2)  Incumbency  of  presidency  limited  to  two 
terms  ;  (3)  Possibility  of  House  of  Governors  becoming  such  a  precedent 
(300). 

VIII.  Comparison  of  the  British  Cabinet  System  with  the  Presi- 
dential System  of  the  United  States. — A.  Place  of  the  titular  executive 
in  each  system:  President  real  executive  in  the  United  States;  Sovereign 
nominal  executive  in  Great  Britain;  Cabinet  really  in  control;  question  as  to 
which  system  yields  greater  efficiency;  difference  in  prompt  compliance  with 
popular  will;  possibility  of  antagonism  between  the  executive  and  the  legisla- 
tive departments  in  each  system  (318,  319-320).  B.  Comparison  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  with  that  of  other  nations  (317-320)  :  The 
United  States  a  federal  republic;  Switzerland  and  Mexico;  Meaning  of  re- 
public; Meaning  of  federal;  Diflference  from  confederation  (319,  320,  244). 
I.  Centralized  republic — France  (320).  2.  Aristocratic  government;  No 
existing  example  (318).  3.  Monarchy:  a  Absolute;  Found  now  only  among 
obscure  peoples  (317).  b  Limited;  The  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland;   the  German  Empire  (317-318). 


Index 


Accused  persons,   rights  of,  128,  129,    Assembly,  State,  143-157, 


179,  180,  184,345,349. 
Aeldorman,  84. 
Agent,  327. 

Agriculture,  commissioner  of,  1 70, 1 74. 
Agriculture,  department  of,  290. 
Aldermen,  city,  47-48  ;  (N.Y.),  68-70, 

74- 
Aliens,  136. 

Ambassadors,  287,  307,  308. 
Amending  constitution,  120,  271. 
Amendments  to  Constitution  of  United 

States,  268-271,  291. 
Anti-Trust  law,  261. 
Appeals,  187. 
Appeals,    Circuit    Court    of,    United 

States,  295. 
Appeals,  State  Court  of,  197,  359. 
Appellate  division,  196. 
Apportionment      of      representatives, 

278. 
Apportionment  of  State  senators  and 

assemblymen,  149-152. 
Arbitration,  314-315. 
Arbitration  and  mediation,  board  of, 

175- 

Aristocracy,  318. 

Arraignment,  184. 

Arrest,  178. 

Articles   of    Confederation,    243-246, 

252-253. 
Assembly,  colonial,  106-1 10,  239. 


composition  of,  143-145. 
cgnstitutional  provisions,  351,  353, 

354. 

districts,  151-152. 

officers  of,  144,  153. 

powers,  157,  161. 
Assessment,  215-217. 
Assessors,  city,  49,  51,  216,  217. 
Assessors,  town,  23,  27,  216,  217. 
Assessors,  village,  37,  38. 
Attainder,  bill  of,  267. 
Attorney,  city,  49. 
Attorney-general,  State,  168,  169. 
Attorney-general,  United  States,  290, 

288,  301. 
Auditors,  city,  49. 
Australian  ballot,  232. 

Bail,  180,  128,  269. 
Ballots,    official,     230-233. 

proposed  reform,  235. 
Banknotes,  221. 
Bankruptcy,  261-262. 
Banks,  221-222. 

inspection  of,  8,  173. 
Banks,   superintendent    of,    170,   173, 

221. 
Belligerency,  310,  316. 
Bill,  defined,  153.     See  Lawmaking. 
Bill  of  rights,  1 24. 
Blockade,  313. 


382 


INDEX 


383 


Bonds,  259. 

Boroughs,  English,  44. 

Boroughs  of  New  York  City,  65,  73. 

Bribery,  234,  364,  365. 

Building  and  loan  associations,  221. 

Building  laws,  of  cities,  56. 

By-laws,  12,  35. 

Cabinet,  of  Great  Britain,  318,  319. 

Cabinet,  President's,  288,  301. 

Canals,  State,  223,  358,  361. 

Canvassers,  boards  of,  233. 

Capital  offense,  180. 

Caucus,  in  legislature,  153. 

Caucus,  primary,  227. 

Census,  State,  149,  353. 

Census,  United  States,  278,  290,  337, 

Chamberlain,  city  of  New  York,  72. 

Charge,  judge's,  186. 

Charities,    State   board  of,    170,   175, 

362. 
Charter,  colonial,  116-117. 
Charter,  village  or  city,  35,  43,  65. 
Charter   of  Liberties   and   Privileges, 

108. 
Circuit  courts,  294-295. 
Citizens,  135-137.  343.  34^,  347- 
Citizenship,  299. 
City,  42-79. 

charter,  43;    (N.Y.),  65. 

classes  of,  47,  364. 

courts,  49;    (N.Y.),  76,  78- 

commission  plan  of  government,  52. 

debt  limited,  50. 

finances,  57-59. 

needs  of,  42,  54-57. 

officers,    47-49,     51-52;      (N.Y.), 
68-78. 

origin  of,  43-46. 

schools,  207-208. 


City,  second  class,  51,  59. 

special  laws  affecting,  50,  364. 
City  of  New  York,  62-78. 
Civil  rights,  131,  179. 
Civil  service,  city,  48-49. 
Civil  service.  State,  1 72-173,  358. 
Civil  service,  United  States,  288. 
Civil  suits  at  law,  190. 
Claims,  court  of.  State,  199. 
Claims,  court  of,  United  States,  297. 
Qerk,  county,  88,  90,  181,  185. 
Clerk,  town,  17,  23,  25. 
Clerk,  village,  37,  2>^. 
Codicil,  332. 
Collector,  town,  23,  27. 
Collector,  village,  37. 
Collectors,  city,  49. 
Colonial  government,  104-117,  239. 
Commerce,  regulation  of,  260-261. 
Commerce  and  labor,  department  of, 

290-291. 
Commerce  court,  297. 
Commission  plan  of  city  government, 

52. 
Commissioner  of  education,  202,  207, 

209,  2U. 
Commissioner  of  jurors,  90. 
Commissioners,  city,  5 1 ;  (N.Y.),  73-75. 
Commissioners,  State,  170-175. 
Committees,  of  Congress,  281-283. 
Committees,  of  legislature,  153-156. 
Committees,  party,  227. 
Common  carrier,  326. 
Common  council,  city,  47-48,  50,  51. 
Common  law,  131,  324. 
Common  school  fund,  206. 
Commutation  of  sentence,  167. 
Compromises  in  constitution,  247-248. 
Comptroller,  city,  51;  (N.Y.),  71-72. 
Comptroller,  State,  168,  169. 


384 


INDEX 


Compulsory  education,  208-209. 
Concurrent  powers,  256. 
Confederate  States,  253. 
Confederation,  of  United  States,  243- 

246,  252-253. 
Congress,  Continental,  240-243. 
Congress  of  Confederation,  244-246. 
Congress,  Stamp  Act,  239-240. 
Congress,  United  States,  275-285. 

committees  of,  281-283. 

composition,  275. 

meetings  of,  275,  280,  338. 

powers  of,  255-271,  284,  339-340. 

See  Senate  and  Representatives. 
Congressional  districts,  278-280, 
Congressmen,  277,  280,  285. 
Constables,  23,  26,  193. 
Constitution,  English,  115. 
Constitution,  State,  349-365. 

amending,  120,  365. 

framed,  no,  118. 

origin  of,  114-118. 

parts  of,  119. 
Constitution,  United  States,  337-347. 

amending,  271. 

amendments  to,  268-271,  291,  299. 

origin  of,  246-249. 

ratified,  249. 

supreme  law,  254,  344. 
Constitution,  written   and  unwritten, 

115,300. 
Constitutional  conventions,  118,  147, 

247-249. 
Constitutionality  of  laws,  1 91-192, 296. 
Consuls,  287,  307,  308. 
Continental  Congress,  240-243. 
Contraband  of  war,  312, 
Contracts,  324-327. 
Conventions,  constitutional,  118,  147, 
247-249. 


Conventions,  party,  228. 

Cooperative  control,  9. 

Copyrights,  263. 

Coroners,  91,  197. 

Corporation    counsel,    city,   49,    51; 

(N.Y.),72. 
Corporations,  private,  220-222. 

taxed,  219,  298. 
Corrupt  practices  act,  234. 
County,  80-93. 

debt  limited,  50. 

finances,  92. 

officers,  86-92,  363. 

origin  of,  83-85. 
County  court,  90-91,  193,  360. 
County  government  in  New  York  City, 

75-76. 

County  judge,  90-91,  193. 

County  seat,  86. 

Courtesy  of  the  senate,  285. 

Courts,  179-192. 

Courts,  city,  49;    (N.Y.),  76-78. 

Courts,  county,  90-91,  193. 

Courts,  justices',  192-193. 

Courts,  State,  194-199. 

cases   removed    to    United    States 
courts,  296. 

Courts,  United  States,  293-297. 

Courts,  village,  38. 

Courts  of  record,  197. 

Criminal,  rights  of,  131,  179,  180. 

Criminals,  brought  to  justice,  178-188. 

Cruel  and  unusual   punishments  for- 
bidden, 128,  270. 

Customs  court,  297. 

Customs  duties,  214,  309. 

Debate,  freedom  of,  in  legislature  and 

Congress,  160,  285. 
Debt,  city  and  county,  50. 


INDEX 


J85 


Debt,  State,  222. 

Debt,  United  States,  298-299. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  242. 

Deed,  329. 

Defendant,  190. 

Democracy,  318. 

Democratic  government,  13. 

Departments,  city,  43,  5 1 ;   (N.Y.),  71- 

75- 
Departments,    executive,    of    United 

States,  288-291. 
Departments  of  government,  29,  141- 

142,  275. 
Despotism,  317. 
Diplomatic  officers,  307. 
Disease,  protection  from,  7,  8. 
District  attorney,  88,  89,  181,  185. 
District  attorneys.  United  States,  290, 

296. 
District  courts.  United  States,  294. 
District  of  Columbia,  263. 
District  superintendent,  202-203. 
Dower,  328. 

Due  process  of  law,  129,  187, 
Duke's  Laws,  107. 
Dutch,  98-99,  104-107. 

Education,  board  of,  206,  208  ;  f^.Y.), 

75- 
Education,  commissioner  of,  202,  207, 

209,  211. 
Elastic  clause,  266. 
Election  boards  bipartisan,  351. 
Election  districts,  229-230. 
Elections,  city,  47,  68,  70. 
Elections,  school,  204. 
Elections,  State,  229-235. 
Elections,  town,  15-16,  23-24. 
Elections,  village,  36,  38-39. 
Electoral  college,  291,  300. 


Embargo,  310. 

Eminent  domain,  129. 

Employer  and  employee,  327. 

Enabling  act,  265. 

Engineer,  city,  51. 

Engineer  and   surveyor.    State,    168, 

170. 
Enrollment,  party,  227,  228. 
Equalization,  boards  of,  217,  219. 
Escheats,  350. 
Estates,  332. 
Estimate   and   apportionment,   board 

of,  52,  59;    (N.Y.),  72. 
Excise,  commissioner  of,  170,  175. 
Executive  department,  29. 

of  State,  141-142,  165. 

of  United  States,  275,  285. 
Exports  not  to  be  taxed,  341. 
Ex  post  facto  law,  267. 
Extradition,  271,  309,  343,  344. 

Federal,  defined,  244. 

Felony,  184. 

Fines,  excessive  forbidden,  128,  269, 

Foreign  relations,  control  of,  257. 

Forest,  fish  and  game  commissioners, 

170,  175. 
Forest  preserve,  State,  223,  175,  361. 
Franchise,  voting,  134-139. 
Franchises,  in  cities,  55;    (N.Y.),  72, 
Freedom,  religious,  127,  268. 
Freedom  of  speech,  130,  268. 
French,  in  New  York,  loo-ioi. 

Ga  or  gau,  German,  83-84. 
Gambling  prohibited,  350. 
Game,  protection  of,  175. 
Gold  certificate,  262. 
Government,  departments  of,  28. 
origin  of,  320. 


386 


INDEX 


Government, 

representative  and  direct,  13. 

work  of,  7-9. 
Governments,  equality  of,  317. 
Governmental  units,  8. 
Governor,  165-167. 

and  other  executive  officers,  175. 

appointments  by,  170. 

succession  to  office,  168. 

veto  powers,  157-158. 
Grand  jury,  1 81-183. 
Greenback,  263. 
Guardian  and  ward,  329. 

Habeas  corpus,   128,  267,  297;    341, 

349- 
Hague  conference,  314-316. 
Health,  board  of,  village,  37-38. 
Health,   department    of,   New    York 

City,  75- 
Health,  State    commissioner  of,   170, 

175- 
Health  officer,  village,  37. 
High  seas,  control  over,  257. 
Highway  Commissioners,   State,   170, 

174. 
Highways,  superintendent  of,  23,  25, 

90. 
"  House  of  Governors,"  1 59. 
Houses,    of    legislative    bodies,    143, 

145.  275. 
Hundred,  the,  26,  83,  84. 
Husband  and  wife,  328. 

Impeachment,  by  State,  161,  198. 
Impeachment,  by  United  States,  292. 
Indians,  290. 
Indictment,  181-182. 
Inheritance  tax,  219. 
Initiative,  146-147. 


Injunction,  297. 

Inspectors  of  Election,  23,  27,  230. 

Insurance,  326. 

Insurance,  Superintendent  of,  170, 173. 

Insurance    companies    inspected,    8, 

Interior  department,  289. 
Internal  revenue,  214,  259. 
International  law,  306-317. 
Interstate  commerce,  260-261. 

Joint  stock  companies,  328. 
Judges,  199,  293-294.     See  Courts. 

constitutional  provisions,  343,  358- 
360. 
Judicial  department,  29. 

of  State,  141-142,  178-199. 

of  United  States,  275,  293. 
Judicial  districts,  State,  194. 
Jurors,  181,  185,  188. 
Jurors,  commissioner  of,  90. 
Jury,  coroner's,  197,  198. 
Jury  in  justice's  court,  193. 
Jury  in  State  courts,  181-186,  191,  196. 
Jury  in  United  States  courts,  296. 
Jury  trial,  right  to,  126-127,  269. 
Justice,  department  of,  290. 
Justices  of  the  peace,  23,  27-28,  192- 
193.  360. 

Labor,  commissioner  of,  170,  175. 
Land,  rights  in,  130. 
Land  office,  commissioners  of,  358. 
Law,  sources  of  State,  323,  324. 
Law  of  the  land,  126,  129. 
Lawmaking,  by  the  State,  153-158. 
Lawmaking,  by  United  States,  281-284 
Lawsuits,  190-192. 
Lease,  325,  331. 
Legislative  department,  29. 


INDEX 


387 


Legislative  department 

of  State,  141- 1 62. 

of  United  States,  275-285. 
Legislature,  143-162,  351-356. 

committees,  153-156. 

composition,  143-146. 

distrust  of,  159. 

eligibility  to,  152. 

meetings,  143. 

origin  of,  143. 

powers,  158-162,  170. 
Libraries,  7,  8. 

Lieutenant  governor,  167-168, 144, 1 54. 
Lighting  plants,  39-40,  55. 
Limitations,  statute  of,  325. 
Literature  fund,  206,  207. 
Local  government,  87. 

importance  of,  29. 

Magna  Charta,  1 14. 

Majority,  233. 

Mandamus,  297. 

Manor,  20. 

Mark,  19. 

Marque  and  reprisal,  258,  313. 

Marriage,  328. 

Marshals,  United  States,  296. 

Mayor,  48,  50,  51;    (N.Y.),  70-71. 

Messages,  167,  287. 

Militia,  171,  259,  340,  363. 

Ministers,  to    foreign   countries,  287, 

307,  308. 
Mint,  262. 
Misdemeanor,  184. 
Monarchy,  317. 
Money,  262-263. 
Mortgage,  330,  331. 
Municipal  corporation,  defined,  il. 
Municipal  ownership,  39-40,  55. 
Mutual  aid  associations,  328. 


National  Guard,  1 71. 

Naturalization,  136-137,  340. 

Navigation  laws,  260. 

Navy  department,  289. 

Neutrals,  rights  and  duties  of,  31 1-3 13. 

New  York  City,  62-79. 

New  York  State,  see  State. 

NicoUs,  Col.  Richard,  107. 

Nobility,  title  not  to  be  granted,  341. 

Nominations,  228-229. 

Noncombatants,  310. 

Normal  schools,  207. 

Oath  of  office,  234,  344,  364. 
Officers,  public,  table  of,  366-368.    See 

Town,  City,  County,  State,  etc. 
Overlapping  powers,  297. 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  town,  23,  26. 

Pardon,  167,  286. 

Parents  and  children,  329. 

Parish,  20. 

Parks,  city,  49»  57  5    (N.Y.),  74. 

Parties,  political,  226-229. 

Partnership,  327. 

Passes,  prohibited,  365. 

Patents,  263. 

Patroons,  105. 

Peace,  justice  of  the,  23,  27-28,  192- 

193,  360. 
Pensions,  United  States,  290,  298. 
Perjury,  188. 
Persona  non  grata,  308. 
Personal  property,  329,  215. 
Personal   rights,    1 23-1 31,    179,  323- 

334. 
Petition,  right  of,  130,  268,  345,  350. 
Piracy,  258,  340. 
Plaintiff,  190. 
Plea,  184. 


388 


INDEX 


Plurality,  233. 

Pocket  veto,  284. 

Police,  42;   (N.Y.),  73- 

Police  justice,  village,  38. 

Political  parties,  226-229. 

Political  year,  363. 

Poll  clerks,  230. 

Poor,  care  of,  26,  57,  90. 

Posse  comitatus,  89. 

Postmaster -general,  290,  288,  301. 

Post  Office,  262,  290,  298. 

Post  Office  Department,  290. 

Powers,  division  of,  255-256,  266. 

Preliminary  steps,  7. 

Presentment,  183. 

President,  United  States,  283-288. 

appointments  by,  286. 

cabinet,  288,  301. 

election  of,  291-292,  300,  346. 

messages  of,  287. 

succession  to  office,  292. 

term  of  office,  286,  300. 

veto  power,  283-284. 
President,  village,  37. 
Previous  question,  283. 
Primary,  227-229,  236. 
Principal  and  agent,  327. 
Prison  labor,  356. 
Prisons,  superintendent   of,  170,  173, 

358. 
Private  enterprises,  not  to  be  aided  by 

governments,  222. 
Private  laws,  forbidden,  159. 
Privateers,  313. 
Prizes  of  war,  311,  313. 
Probate  court,  91. 
Promissory  notes,  333. 
Public  Service  Commissions,  170,  174. 
Public  works,  superintendent  of,  170, 

173- 


Punishments,  cruel,  128,  270. 
Puritans,  99-100. 

Quorum,  in  Congress,  338. 
in  legislature,  144. 

Railroads,  control  of,  174,  261. 

Real  estate,  329-332. 

Reciprocity  treaty,  257. 

Record,  courts  of,  197. 

Reeve,  20. 

Referendum,  146-147. 

Regents  of  the  University,  210,  211, 

Register  of  deeds,  90. 
Registration,  138,  230,  351. 
Religious  freedom,  127,  268,  344,  345. 
Representation,  ratio  of,  149,  151,  278. 
Representative  government,  13. 
Representatives,  House  of,  275. 

election  of,  278-280. 

powers  of,  283,  284-285,  292. 
Reprieve,  167,  286. 
Republic,  319. 

kinds  of,  320. 
Revenue  bills,  281. 
Revolution,  238-243. 
Rights,  123-138,  179. 

civil  and  political,  131. 

criminal  may  lose,  131,  132. 

of  accused  persons,   128,  129,  179, 
180,  184. 

retained  by  the  people,  271,  345. 
Right  to  vote,  134-139. 
Roads,  7-10,  25-26. 

Salaries  of  public  officers,  266-268, 
Sale,  contract  of,  325. 
School  commissioner,  202. 
School  district,  202-206. 


INDEX 


389 


School  district, 

meeting,  204,  205. 

officers,  205,  206. 
School  moneys,  206,  207,  362. 
School  tax,  205. 
School  teachers,  208. 
School  trustee,  205-206. 
Schools,  201-21 1. 

free,  201,  362. 

money  for,  206-207. 
Schools,  normal,  207. 
Schools,  superintendent  of,  202,  208. 
Searches  and  seizures,  269,  345. 
Secretary  of  agriculture,  290,  288,  301. 

of  commerce  and  labor,   290,  288, 
301. 

of  state.  State,  168-169. 

of  state,   United   States,  288,   301, 
292. 

of  the  interior,  289,  288,  301. 

of  the  navy,  289,  288,  301. 

of  the  treasury,  289,  288,  301,  292. 

of  war,  289,  288,  301,  292. 
Sectarian  schools  not  to  be  aided,  362, 

363. 
Senate,  State,  143-157. 

composition,  143-145. 

constitutional  provisions,  351-354. 

districts,  149-15 1. 

officers  of,  144,  153,  154. 

powers,  157,  1 61-162,  168,  170. 
Senate,  United  States,  275-276. 

elections  to,  276-277. 

powers  of,  283,  284,  281,  292. 
Sentence,  186-187. 
Sewers,  53,  54. 
Sheriff,  88-89. 
Shire,  English,  83,  84,  165. 
Silver  certificates,  262. 
Sinking  funds,  State,  361. 


Slavery,  270,  346. 

Sovereignty,  95,  96. 

Speaker,  of  Assembly,  144,  154,  168. 

of  House  of  Representatives,  278, 
282-283. 
Special  sessions  court,  192. 
Speech,  freedom  of,  130,  268. 
Stamp  Act  Congress,  239-240. 
State,  defined,  238. 
State,  department  of,  288. 
State  (New  York),  a  municipal  cor- 
poration, 94. 

activities  and  duties  of,  96-97. 

congressional  districts,  279,  280. 

constitution,  see  Constitution. 

executive  officers,  165-176. 

finances,  160,  219-220,  222. 

judiciary  department,  1 78-199. 

legislature,  143-162. 

origin  of,  98-1 1 1. 

powers  of,  97,  266,  270,  323. 

relation   to   nation,    238,   252-256, 
266,  271. 

relation  to  smaller  units,  95-96. 

sovereignty  of,  95-96. 
States,  admission  of,  265. 

relation    to    nation,   238,   252-256, 
266,  271. 
Statutes,  191,  360. 
Street  commissioner,  city,  49. 
Street  commissioner,  village,  37,  38. 
Streets,  city,  53-56. 
Stuyvesant,  Peter,  105-106. 
Suffrage,  1 34-1 39- 
Summons,  190. 

Superintendent  of  banks,  170, 173,221. 
Superintendent    of   highways,    town, 

23.  25. 
Superintendent  ot  highways,   county, 
90. 


390 


INDEX 


Superintendent  of  insurance,  170,  173. 
Superintendent  of  public  works,  170, 

173- 
Superintendent  of  schools,  202,  208. 
Superintendent  of  State  prisons,  170, 

173- 
Superintendent  of  the   poor,  county, 

88,90. 
Supervisor,  town,  23,  24-25,  181. 
Supervisors,  board  of,  86-87,  356. 
Supervisory  districts,  202-203. 
Supreme    Court,   of    United     States, 

293-296. 
Supreme  court,  State,  194-196. 
Surrogate,  91,  198,  360. 

Tariff,  customs,  214,  309. 

Tax,  city,  58-59. 

Tax,  school,  205. 

Tax,  State  and  local,  214-220. 

Tax,  United  States,  259,  267,  268,  214. 

Tax  commissioners,  170,  174,  219. 

Taxation,  213-220,  58,  59,  205. 

direct,  214,  259. 

indirect,  214,  259. 

without  consent,  238-240. 
Teachers,  208. 
Territory,  264-265,  344. 
Title  of  nobility  not  to  be  granted,  268. 
Town,  10-32. 

officers  of,  23-28. 

origin  of,  18-21,  ii. 

relations  with  county,  87,  88. 
Town  board,  28. 
Town  meeting,  11-23,  29-30. 

powers  of,  16. 

time  of,  15. 
Travelers,  rights  of,  309. 
Treason,  167,  343. 
Treasurer,  city,  49,  51;   (N.Y.),  72. 


Treasurer,  county,  88,  89. 
Treasurer,  State,  168,  169,  167. 
Treasurer,  village,  37,  38. 
Treasury,  United  States,  289. 
Treasury  notes,  263. 
Treaties,  287,  308,  257. 
Trial  jury,  184-186. 
Truants,  209. 

Trust  companies,  221,  173. 
Trustee,  school,  204-206. 
Trustees,  village,  36-37,  38. 
Twelve  Select  Men,  105. 

Union  free  school  district,  206. 
United  States,  238. 

Congress,  275-285. 

Constitution,  see  Constitution. 

courts,  293-297. 

executive  officers,  285-292,  300,  301. 

finances,  298-299. 

nature  of  government,  96,  252-255. 

origin  of,  239-247. 

powers  of,  255-271, 

sovereignty  of,  96. 

territory,  264-265. 
United  States  Deposit  Fund,  206-207. 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York, 


Venue,  change  of,  186. 
Verdict,  186. 
Vestry  meeting,  20. 
Veto,  by  mayor,  48,  70. 
Veto,  governor's,  157-158. 
Veto,  President's,  283-284. 
Vice  President,  276,  283,  291. 
Village,  33-41. 

charter,  35. 

classes  of,  35. 

needs  of,  34. 


INDEX 


39it 


Village,  officers,  36-38. 

part  of  town,  34. 

questions  for,  39-40. 
Voting,  226,  232;  see  Elections. 

duty  of,  53,  139. 

right  of,  134-139- 
Voting  machine,  235. 

Walloons,  100,  loi. 
War,  provisions  of  international  law, 
310-314. 


War  department,  289. 

War  powers,  258,  286. 

Ward,  city,  47. 

Ward  and  guardian,  329. 

Warrant,  179. 

Waterworks,  39-40,  55. 

Washington,  first  President,  249. 

West  India  Company,  104-106. 

Will,  332,  198. 

Women  may  vote,  when,  38,  204,  140. 

Worship,  freedom  of,  127,  268, 


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J3IQ 

.Mr 

255813 


